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"M&039;LADY," a reat hall, where she was on her knees, scrubbing the floor

She glanced up, down, up, down, then up again "James?"

He stopped, his face, free of hair, went a little red "Yes, Countess"

She ju his burly self around to face her "Jaods, look at you!"

"I a at you"

She laughed and wiped her brow "Why in the world have you been hiding that handsome face behind so muchfur?"

"ICountess, are you jesting? I feel almost disrobed"

"Holy smokes, James," Isabel said, truly shocked Without all of that hair, he looked like a young Clooney, albeit beefier About a foot taller And way better "Why have you been hiding your good looks? I mean, truly"

She was sincerely almost at a loss for words

"I did not knoas doing such But I appreciate it, Countess Yet right now I feel as a newborn babe," he said, rubbing his jaw

"Mary takes no prisoners"

"Oh, she does indeed Right now her prisoner is the king"

She smiled "Now I see what Mary has always seen What a lucky bride to have such a handsolanced around "And her toes are pretty," he whispered

"As is she"

He got a h for the kindness you have shown her She is very excited about this gown"

"She is the best kind of friend, Ja she will be that much of a friend to you, as well as your life mate"

He rubbed at his eyes "We cannot thank you enough for your generosity"

"All I want is for the two of you to be happy I would plant a kiss on your cheek, if I had a ladder that would help ain, and then said, "A kiss from a countess would be an honor"

He bent down and she kissed his cheek "All good wishes, Ja, Countess I have feelings, and I know this feeling is right You are meant for one another As Mary and I are"

He strode away before she could utter a single word

She shook her head and went back to scrubbing the floor Gas out with several servants, all of the the rushes to, she hoped, a h Gwen had sworn she had a for

"Isabel!"

She nearly fell over from the shock She looked up, and there was Arthur, clean-cut and gorgeous "Wow," she said, standing up "You, sir, are theI have ever seen in s have you seen exactly?" he asked

None, other than Arthur of course "Naked, you mean? That would be one"

He tried not to smile and failed miserably "Isabel, why are you down on your hands and knees?"

"I&039; Trust me, this hall needs it badly"

"There are people to do this"

"Right Like me I am capable, Arthur By the way, you look luscious"

"Do not try to distract me ords I do not ken," he said "I want you not down on the floor"

"Too freakin&039; bad I can help clean as well as anyone"

"We have people who - "

"Arthur! If I a to help, what does that say about iveclean this hall"

"But there are people - "

"Do not even go there Do you stand around as your men work out?"

"No, but - "

"Do you stand by while your ht your battles for you?"

"No, but - "

"Then please don&039;t be upset when I do what needs to be done I am no better than anyone because I happened to be born into royalty" She had no idea if that was true in this alter reality, but she was going with it "Are you any better than others because you ed to pull a sword out of a stone?"

"No, but - "

"We all bleed red, Arthur We are the same"

"Yes, but - "

She waited, but he seemed to be stumped "Yes, but what?"

"You missed a spot over here, Isabel"

And he walked away, into his study

Good gods, she loved thatto kick his ass to be sure But in thethe spot she hadvows between Ja They were so true and heartfelt and Mary was a beautiful bride

Gwen had truly outdone herself The hall was spectacular with candles and flowers everywhere In Isabel&039;s day, Gould probably be the most successful party planner in the entire state of Oklaho

Isabel, obviously, had never witnessed such a cereious, but so very spiritual

"I do thee vow," James said

And as his second man, Arthur stepped before them "You will honor your wife"

"I will"

"Protect her and keep her at all costs"

"I will"

"Isabel?" he said

She moved in front of the two and twined their hands, as was the custom

"You will honor your husband?"

"I will"

"Protect and keep him at all costs?"

That ay off script The as supposed to honor his wishes and obey his demands But she could not have possibly choked that out of her mouth

"She will," Jain

"I will," Mary said

"Excellent," Isabel said "You are so going to live happily together" She bent and kissed Mary&039;s cheek "He is a lucky man, m&039;lady," she whispered

Mary looked up at her and grinned "Yes, he is"

Arthur closed the ceremony and then called for all to celebrate

"WHAT in Hades was that?" Arthur asked Isabel, when he finally ed to corner her

"What?"

"&039;Twas not as cereo You - "

"Went off script, yes, I know But it was so much more truthful"

"Truthful?"

"Arthur, had you and I ever married - "

"You must mean e marry"

"Okay, dream on When weto obey you And there was no way I was going to ask Mary to vow to do such a thing So I improvised"

He stared for a"Oh, Isabel, you are a puzzle And a constant delight"

"I&039; that as a compliment I think"

"Take it as a coo Now let&039;s go celebrate"

THE reception lasted well into the night The food, wine andas fast as it was produced To the credit of all who had to work the party, they seeenuinely happy for Mary and Jaood front And Isabel had the feeling she kneho to thank for that

She walked over to Gho see her hands and nodding

"Your voice is beautiful, Jenny You will do just fine," she heard Gwen say "Just sing it like you did this "

Jenny nodded a final time, then ran off

"I must say, Lady Guinevere, your throw one hell of a party," Isabel said

Gwen smiled at her "We throw one hell of a party I could not have done this without you"

"Or without a gazillion people helping"

Gwen laughed "That, too"

They both looked as Jenny began singing Oh, it was so beautiful Isabel didn&039;t know the song, but she knew a voice like no other when she heard it All clapped at the end, as well they should have

Wow! Iin to describe it

"She&039;s good!"

"In "

"Wow, lucky you!"

"Indeed"

"Speaking of which, just what did you say to the staff?" Isabel asked

"I a the wine in her goblet

"I am certain you do"

Gwen smiled, then sipped at her wine "I merely mentioned how thrilled I was for Mary and James, and would it not be shaht"

Isabel nodded "Very tactful And effective That was such a nice thing to do"

"&039;Twas the very least I could do"

"This is not the wine talking, this is me" Isabel said "I really enjoy and admire you, Gwen When you step up, you really step up"

Gwen&039;s eyes welled She glanced around "This is not the wine talking," she said softly, "this is me I understand, completely, why Arthur is so taken with you"

Okay, it was Isabel&039;s turn to blink back tears "No matter what the future holds, I hope ill always be friends, Gwen"

"That is er friends"

Isabel nearly coughed up a ed to s, she said, "How do you like Lance&039;s hair?"

Gwen&039;s eyes went straight to her lover "He does look exceedingly handso pretty-boy types Isabel figured that tastes differed drastically She thought Arthur, with his rugged and oh-so-handsoood looks, was so much sexier But at the moment she was thrilled that her idea of attractive and Gwen&039;s were from completely different planets "He does, indeed," she said, diplo her hair pulled out

"And how about James?" she added

"Who kneen said

"Mary did She saw past all of that to his heart But truly, he&039;s a very attractive giant"

Gwen giggled Then she said, "Even Mordred appears row into his looks, but he really lucked out in the gene departe"

"What did you do, Isabel?"

"What do youhappened Until recently he seehing and eether just thisto do with this transfor to do with that knee injury"

"Perhaps," Isabel said

They glanced at each other and both started giggling Isabel raised a fist, pinky finger out Gwen stared for a moment, then mimicked with her own Then they hooked up

"This means the world to hed "Is this the strangest friendship ever?"

"Very possible," Gwen said "But rather fun, do you not think?"

"No one would ever believe it"

"Which is why it is fun"

A banging sound had the out of their slippers They looked over, and Arthur was standing on one of the long tables, getting attention by clanging a utensil against his stein

"Please, may the happy couple step forward?" he boomed

Isabel looked up at hier-than-life presence, so big and strong and, good gods, handsome And he loved her He desired her He wanted to hold and protect her

Maybe over tiet him to be just a little less chauvinistic, but it really did, at this moment, strike her to the core all that he was, all he represented He was a king, yet he was no dictator He treated all equally He valued every person at Camelot, treated them as family And all here, as far as she had seen so far, adored him and admired him in return Wonder of wonders, he loved her She had no idea why, but then again she was not about to question it

She could barely breathe just staring up at him

"Please, have all of the servants come join us," he said "They have worked so hard to ht a success"

There was a moment of silence as Mary and James stepped up to the table and the staff filed in frolanced around, his eyes squinting "Well, I know that they are here, but at the moment, I cannot find them But, James and Mary, you very likely have been too excited and busy to take note, but the queen and the countess worked as hard as all to ht as memorable for you as is possible"

Cheers nearly broke Isabel&039;s ear drurabbed Gwen&039;s hand and they squeezed What a strange alliance

Jaht all held a collective breath, wondering if there was a table on earth that could hold hiht

"I, too, would care to thank everyone," James said "And I, too, thank the queen and the countess for their hard work to make reat joy Our king may not ken that I saw all that you did, but I indeed itness to it And Mary and I cannot even begin to show our gratitude" Big, large, no, gigantic Ja appreciation Is Caain, the cheers nearly shook the rafters Actually, Isabel thought, did castles have rafters? Exactly ere rafters, anyway?

"And should there be a greater king to serve than Sir Arthur?"

Again, deafening cheers

Arthur looked like he wanted to pound his stein over James&039;s head

"James, you are my best mate," he said, "but I fear if you do not climb down from this table, the both of us will cru Arthur!" Jaan to cli!" the entire hall cheered

"Criminey!" Arthur said "This is about our need couple! Let us keep the eye on the prize, everyone"

"What?" Gwen said

Isabel looked down Arthur was picking up way too iven moment

"Mary and Jae A very, very happy night for you both"

"Oh, sir, that is a wonderful gift"

"Where is the queen?" Arthur asked "Queen Guinevere, please coain squeezed Isabel&039;s hand "This should be you"

Isabel shook her head "No, you are the queen, Gwen Go!"

Galked forward, and Arthur stepped down froreet her They made such a beautiful couple, Isabel was ready to shoot thee, her crown glistening atop her head

And then she said, "No, I cannot take credit for the gift that comes next It is Isabel, Countess of Dumont, as insistent Please, Countess, come here to tell Mary and James"

Isabel wanted to disappear, literally and figuratively

She shook her head "No!"

Gwen pointed at her "Go get her, Jae, at least a foot off the ground, was not exactly her idea of rand entrance But that was exactly what Ja the entire time

"My pardon, Countess," James said as he set her down "But you have been suet you for this I don&039;t knohen, I don&039;t kno, but I will get you," she said to Mary&039;s new husband "So watch your back"

"I will, Countess I alare at him, but how could she? "Bend down," she said

He did and she kissed his cheek "Happy days, James You make her happy or you answer to htens me," he said

"Good"

"This is ridiculous," she told the crowd "Your king and queen are responsible, not me"

"Not true," Arthur said "As we all pondered gifts for Mary and Jaested the one the queen and I offer So, Countess, please let them know"

Isabel turned to the couple, then she couldn&039;t help it She held up her pinky finger to Mary Mary laughed and the two hooked up And then Isabel looked at Gwen "Your Highness?"

"You know I dislike when you call er around theirs "Friends!" the three said, holding their entwined fingers in the air

They broke apart, laughing When Isabel finally glanced up, she saw just about everyone in the hall gaping at thenored hi and queen are too ift to Mary and Jaift is the cottage, for the two of theasped Jaered a bit The stunned expressions on their faces were priceless Good gods, she wished she had her camera

Mary reached for her and Isabel held her, waiting for Mary&039;s heaving sobs to settle

"Mary, it isn&039;tthem" She pulled the hanky fro Queen Gift Froether and turned to Arthur and Gwen She tried to curtsy, but her legs were obviously a little shaky

Arthur took her arh of that"

"We cannot," Mary hiccupped, "thank you enough"

"You"I will not be offended"

Isabel shot hi oner

DEAD on her feet did not even begin to describe how Isabel was feeling

Without Mary there to help her out of this gaful gown, she was in trouble

She conteown or not, when there was a knock on her door "Thank you, Jenny, I need so badly help out of these clothes Come in"

And in walked Arthur "I aladly help you undress"

She smiled, but it was pretty weak "Arthur, I aladly accept your help out of this contraption"

"My pleasure, madam"

She turned her back to him so he could work the back laces "This could be a probleave Jenny the night off"

"Jenny is Gwen&039;s girl"

"She is Gwen gave Jenny the night off an hour ago Just afore Gwen and Lance disappeared"

"Oh, I am so sorry"

"For what reason are you sorry?"

"That Gwenthat Lancethat youoh, hell, I&039;m just sorry"

He flipped her back to face hiuess, just that it still has to hurt at soht? That I was unable to introduce you asive a flying fig about being a queen, Arthur"