Prologue

She had once been called Norena the Beautiful during the days when she was a powerful enchantress. She was once admired-but mostly feared greatly-by many of those she came across. Literally able to stop the heart of any man that happened to cross her path, she was the most powerful being on the face of the planet. Holding a great deal of power, Norena had the world at her feet. She knew that nothing could stop her from getting whatever she wanted.

The Fates had been quick to put her in her place, stripping her of everything that she held dear and everything that she had ever wanted. It had made her into what she was now-a ghost, a shadow, a mere whisper in the darkness. Stripped of her worldly body, her powers were dwindling, a mere spec compared to what she had before but sufficient nonetheless for what she needed to do to exact her vengeance. That task was simple enough-possess the body of one she could use to return her to her original power.

After nearly a century, Norena had found no such person. All of those whom she had even considered ended up being cast aside: they were too weak, too simple, not worth the effort. None of those she was given were strong enough to handle what she needed them to, and those that could handle it were too strong-willed for her to be able to control. She was beginning to think that she would never be able to exact her vengeance, that the descendants of those who had wronged her would go unpunished.

All of that changed, however, when she suddenly found herself looking upon a certain handmaiden who was both strong yet meek. The woman was beautiful, apparently adored by many, but acted as though she was unaware of such attention. She was quiet, yet Norena sensed that the woman held a great deal of strength that she knew she could use to bend many to her will. She was the perfect specimen, and she was Norena's for the taking because she was currently in a weakened state. The woman had a broken heart, which left her susceptible to Norena's power. She even had a beautiful name to add to that, one that Norena would not mind being called. Yes, she would greatly enjoy being called...Guinevere.

Gwen hated feeling this way: feeling so defeated, so miserable, so...hopeless. She hated feeling so frustrated and heartbroken over a man who could make her feel so complete and then leave her broken. She wanted to be angry at him, the one who had stolen her heart when she had not expected it and then handed it back to her torn, crumbled, and tattered. She wanted to turn her back on his world and return to the one that she knew she belonged to, but it was impossible. He was always there at every turn, in every room, in every corridor. If he was not there physically, his presence was still there, reminding her that he would always be there but he would remain out of reach.

What had ever possessed her to fall for the crown prince was beyond her. She could remember a time when the thought of loving Arthur would have made her laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. She even remembered distinctly laughing with Merlin during his first feast when she had been so much more naive and unburdened. She remembered telling Merlin that she didn't want to be Morgana when she had thought her mistress would be the perfect match for Arthur. She even recalled saying, “Who would want to marry Arthur?”

It seemed that as soon as she had uttered those words she had placed a jinx on herself, causing her to walk on a path that was leading her directly to him, her heart open and ready to be broken. From there, she had seen the way he had changed, the way that he was willing to risk his life for Merlin and herself on more than one occasion, and the way he had felt sincere remorse at her loss when her father had died. She had seen his bravery, the care that he had for his people, the way he was willing to go to any lengths to become the man that she had truly begun to see inside of him-the king that she and the people of Albion had wished for. She had felt the butterflies that had filled her stomach when he had pressed his lips to her in a passionate kiss. Then, she had felt pride when he had actually listened to her when she had told him about his arrogance. He had continued to hold onto that advice- his demeanor more courteous and polite to those of lesser station. He had remembered her words, he just seemed to have forgotten...her.

Gwen had a hole in her heart that he had placed within her when he had told her that his father would never understand, and that hole had only grown larger and larger with each glance that she shared with him but that either he or she would quickly avert their eyes from. She had known that they could never be together before he said those words, but as soon as he had spoken them, confirmed them, she had felt her heart shatter. It was possibly there, at that very moment that she had realized that she loved him-the moment right before he broke her heart. Even though she had anticipated those words, they had made her feel like she was falling from the highest tower, towards a chasm that was ready to swallow her whole.

Lancelot was someone that she had hoped would be able to fill the gaping hole that Arthur had left behind, but in the end, she had felt worse about his affections. She had hated that she was using him as a shield to cover up the weakness that had taken a hold of her heart. She had even felt that a part of her was glad that he had left before anything more could come between them. She hated using him, and she hated the way she felt when she was trying to feel something for him that just was not there. She admired his ability to walk away from something that he knew could never be because she knew that she could never walk away from Arthur even though he had told her that they would never be accepted by his father-by his world in general. It had been because of that realization that she was alone again and could very well live the rest of her life alone that made her cry when Merlin had revealed that Lancelot had left. Even he could move on, but she could not.

Shaking herself out of her gloomy thoughts, Gwen, finished placing the rest of the fresh linens that she had just brought up from the washrooms into the cupboard She closed the door as quietly as she could so as not to wake her mistress who had already fallen fast asleep for the night. She sighed as she watched Morgana sleeping peacefully, something that was more common now ever since Morgana had been returned from the Druids many months before. Even if Gwen's nights were filled with haunting thoughts, she was glad that Morgana was no longer having nightmares.

Going to Morgana's bedside, Gwen made sure to pull the covers up over her lady before blowing out the candle on her nightstand. After assuring herself that everything was in its rightful place and that there was nothing more that she needed to do, she then found her shawl on top of her chair and wrapped it around herself in preparation for her walk home. She made her way out the door and once more closed the door shut as quietly as possible behind her.

As she turned away from the door, a cold breeze suddenly blew past her, making her shiver. The castle was generally drafty, but that particular draft had been especially cold, sending a tremor down her spine. Gwen could not help but suddenly feel like there was someone watching her even though she found no one around when she looked up and down the corridor. Shaking her head, she turned that thought away, telling herself that she was letting her imagination get the best of her.

She headed towards the steps that would lead her down towards the castle entrance, pulling her shawl tighter around her. Humming softly under her breath, she reached the stairs only to find herself looking back over her shoulder, the feeling of someone watching her stronger than ever. Once again, however, she found that the corridor was empty.

Ready to push the uneasy thoughts away once more, Gwen turned to leave when she suddenly heard a faint whisper. 'Guinevere,' it said, sounding from behind her.

Whirling around once more, Gwen looked back down the corridor, her hands clenched into fists at her side. There was still no one there.

“Wh-Who's there?” she cried out, her voice shaking slightly. “Whoever is there, this isn't funny. Come out, now!”

Her words echoed throughout the empty hall and after they had faded, there was only silence. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her breaths that had grown somewhat heavier from the little scare that she had had and also the sound of her blood pounding in her ears. Despite the fact that her eyes could not see anything, her senses were telling her that there was something there, watching her. Goose bumps covered her flesh and her heart was pounding against her chest as though it were trying to break free of its prison. No matter how much she wanted to tell herself that she was just reacting to an over-active imagination, her head was telling her that she should still run.

Before she could turn around, however, Gwen felt another draft of cold air that sent a shiver down her spine before she heard her name being whispered again, this time louder. Whatever it was, it was growing closer.

Suddenly, she saw the torch at the opposite end of the corridor begin to flicker before it blew out. Though that wasn't such a rare occurrence in and of itself, the fact that the torch next to it went out a second later, and the one after that as well, was cause for alarm. She watched as one by one, the torches flickered and blew out as if invisible hands were pinching out the flames like they were mere candles. The darkness that filled the hall with each one became larger and larger, stamping out any evidence that any light-or life for that matter-had ever existed, and it was growing closer. Before Gwen could even fathom the need to run, the darkness had nearly reached her-merely four torches away.

Spinning on her heel, Gwen immediately turned around and started to descend the steps as fast as her feet could carry her. Even though she dared not to look back, she knew that the darkness was following her, blowing out the torches on the stairway. She kept descending and descending, the staircase suddenly feeling like it had been lengthened a million times over. She nearly stumbled over her skirt once because of the break-neck speed in which she was running down the steps, but she recovered quickly, glancing quickly over her shoulder only to find that the darkness was now only one torch away, the cold that lay within it nipping at her heals. Crying out, she continued to run down the steps faster than she had before even though her legs and lungs were already beginning to scream at her. She could just imagine pale, dead fingers reaching out to snatch her back into the black depths. She just needed to reach the bottom where she knew there would be guards. She just needed to reach them to be safe.

As though her prayers had been answered, Gwen saw the end of the stairway and her salvation, and found the strength within herself to run a little faster. She could still feel the cold shadows reaching out for her, the picture of those dead fingers making her want to scream out, but she knew that she needed to focus on getting to the end, to safety.

A few steps from the bottom, Gwen suddenly saw the last torch suddenly blow out before she felt something tug at the end of her skirt, nearly making her fall backwards. She pulled against it as she continued to fight to get to the bottom. The force from the black was strongly pulling at her, but she continued to pushed herself. Looking down, she was horrified to see pale fingers holding the back of her gown. Crying out this time, Gwen grabbed a hold of the gown from the top and pulled as hard as she could before she heard a tear and felt herself flying forward. She was then stumbling down, and the next thing she knew she was falling into the light, the ground rushing up to meet her.

Not even allowing herself the chance to let her hands and knees scream from the pain of the fall, Gwen quickly flipped herself over to see if her attacker was still pursuing her. Sure enough, she gazed into the black and suddenly saw a pale figure that appeared to be a woman, shrouded in darkness. The face of the being was partly concealed behind long tresses of raven-black hair that blew around her with a non-existent wind. Gwen could just make out the being's eyes through those tresses and she knew that she did not want to see more. They were dead, cold, and completely black.

Even though she was still panting for breath, Gwen let out a fearful scream as she kicked her legs to project her body backwards, away from the stairwell where the creature seemed momentarily confined. The corridor that she was now in was still well-lit with many torches, but Gwen could not help but remember how quickly the torches in the other corridor had been blown out.

As if sensing what she was thinking the being slowly turned her head, her movement jerky, corpse-like, and suddenly Gwen saw one of the torches on the far side of the corridor flickering before going out. Just like the previous corridor, the torch next to it was quick to follow.

Despite the fact that her body was pleading for her to stay still, Gwen pushed herself up against the wall and used it to get back to her feet. The torches were being doused faster and faster, and she knew that she did not have much time. The creature was already looking like she was ready to pounce.

She had thought that there would be guards, but luck was not on her side for there were none there. It was most likely the time for the guards to be changed, which meant that she was on her own. There was more running to do, she was not yet safe.

Gwen started to run, but she stumbled as she felt a sharp pain suddenly shoot up her leg. The ankle that she had twisted when she had tried to escape with Morgana before had been twisted again during the fall. That meant, she was going to be even slower than she was before. That didn't mean she was going to give up. She was a fighter, she was not going to let the darkness take her without a struggle.

Grinding her teeth, she tried to fight the pain that felt with every step of her wounded ankle. It felt as though it was crippling her, but she once again started to run, her steps more of a limp with her injury. The torches at the far end of the hallway had all been extinguished and the creature was now once again hot on her heels.

Turning down the corridor, Gwen continued to limp, her senses telling her that the creature was gaining on her fast. She fought against the pain and the fatigue that was taking over her. She tried to remember that she had a lot to live for, and that she was not going to give it up willingly.

There was another corner up ahead, and Gwen took it quickly as she dared a look over her shoulder to see how close the creature was to her. She could only see blackness behind her only to turn and suddenly feel herself running into a cool body. Swinging her arms every which way, hoping to make contact with anything, she screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling and fighting with whatever might she had left. She kicked and punched only to find hands grabbing a hold of her arms.

“Gwen. Gwen. Guinevere!” she heard her captor say firmly as they struggled with her, and immediately she stopped. The voice that had said her name was one that she recognized well, for it was one that belonged to the man that she dreamed of every night. She was with Arthur! She was safe.

With tears that she had not even realized she had allowed to fall coursing down her face, Gwen looked up into the prince's blue eyes as her entire body shook with exhaustion and fear. “A-Arthur!” she cried as she reached up and placed her hand on his face. “It's you! It's really you!” she exclaimed though it only came out as a whisper, her body already beginning to weaken from the toll she had pushed upon it. She allowed more tears to fall as she buried her face in his chest, wallowing in the warmth of his arms as they wrapped themselves around her, holding her close to him.

“What's the matter, Guinevere? Why are you trembling so?” Arthur questioned as he gently stroked her back with one hand while he cupped the back of her head with the other. “Are you hurt? Are you ill?”

“Th-There was a woman, and she was chasing me,” Gwen answered quietly as more tears continued to fall. Pulling away from Arthur, she looked up into his face. “She was horrid. She wasn't human...at least she wasn't anymore. She kept calling my name and she came from the darkness,” she then cried, the memory of the creature's eyes suddenly making her tremble even more.

Taking her face into his hands, Arthur looked deeply into her eyes. “It's all right, Guinevere” he said softly, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her lips. “You're with me, now, and I'm never going to let anything or anyone hurt you.”

With a smile beginning to touch her lips, she nodded. Gwen believed him. No matter how much she may have doubted his feelings towards her, Gwen knew that she could always be safe with Arthur. Being with him was all that she needed to feel secure. The security with him only increased as he unsheathed his sword and took her hand with his free hand. She suddenly felt ready to take on any foe that wished to come her way. That didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't holding her breath as she walked-or rather limped-with him around the corner.

She had expected to see darkness and black images that would haunt her nightmares when they turned the corner, but instead, she found herself looking into a well-lit corridor, empty of any demon or witch. There was no one there. Whatever had come after her had vanished and covered up any tracks that they had left.

Looking to Arthur, Gwen shook her head. “She was there, Arthur, I swear!” she cried. “I don't know where she went, but she was th-”

Placing a finger to her lips, Arthur shushed her. Sheathing his sword, he said softly, “I believe you, Guinevere. You don't have to say anything more. Whatever was there must have just left. It doesn't matter, now. All that matters now is that you're safe, and now we can take you to Gaius to look after that ankle.”

Nodding slowly, and slightly relieved, Gwen lowered her eyes to the ground as she held on to Arthur's hand a little tighter. She was preparing to turn around to begin the walk to Gaius's when she suddenly felt Arthur's arms wrap around her and suddenly felt her body being lifted off of the ground. Letting out a startled cry, she looked up into Arthur's face only to find him grinning down at her. He really was her knight in shining armor.

Carrying her bridal style, Arthur began to turn the corner. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Gwen relaxed in his arms, suddenly content. She did, however, lean her head back as they were turning to gaze once more down the empty corridor. She nearly let out a cry as she found herself gazing into the far corner where there appeared to be a figure standing in the shadows, the raven tresses still blowing around the ghostly pale head. Gwen's brown eyes met the onyx eyes of the creature, and she swore that she saw the creature smile before Arthur turned the corner completely making the creature vanish behind the stone.

Gwen wrapped her arms tighter around Arthur as she buried her head into his shoulder. “She wasn't there, she wasn't there,” she murmured to herself even though she knew full well that she was lying. “She wasn't there.”

Gwen was sleeping in his arms when they finally arrived at Gaius's quarters. Arthur could not help but look upon her adoringly as he watched her breathe deeply, her face filled with such peace. He was not blind. He had seen the way she had been acting the past few months: trying to stay cheeful even though he could see that there was pain and emptiness in her eyes. He was not a fool, he knew deep down that it was because of him, but he also thought that a great deal of her pain had been because of Lancelot leaving.

Arthur gritted his teeth. Even thinking that name made him want to punch a hole through the wall. Arthur had admired him once because of how he was so...noble and chivalrous, but he had no idea that the man was using that to try and win over Guinevere! The nerve of him, and then to go and throw that away by walking away while she was sleeping, not even having the courage to tell her face-to-face that he was leaving her with a broken heart. He had wanted to tear the man's face off, but he couldn't, and he couldn't comfort her. He had already royally screwed things up with her by telling her she would never be accepted and then letting his pride get the better of him when Lancelot had asked why he had gone through such great lengths to save her from Hengist's men. He didn't even want to get started on the women he had been forced to court right in front of her. He couldn't bear to hurt her more by trying to offer her something that he was not absolutely sure he could give. He knew that she deserved more than that.

After engraving the image of her peaceful face into his brain, the crowned prince sighed before shifting her in his arms so that he could reach up and knock on the door. He could hear soft voices sounding from behind the wooden doorway before the door opened a crack and he saw his half-witted servant's eyes suddenly appear before him. The brown eyes first looked up into Arthur's stern face before widening as they flicked down to Gwen's slumbering form.

Opening the door wide, the brown-haired man frowned and looked up at Arthur accusingly. “What did you do to Gwen?” he commanded as if he were the prince rather than the servant.

Pursing his lips, Arthur forced himself to bite back the cold retort that he had grown accustomed to throwing at Merlin whenever he said something stupid. Should it have been any other situation, he would have, but for Gwen's sake, he decided that he would be civil to the baffoon because he knew that the young man cared for Gwen a great deal as well.

“I didn't doanything to her, Merlin, she just twisted her ankle,” Arthur replied curtly. “Now, are you going to just stand there like a statue, or are you going to help me with her?”

Stepping away from the doorway, Merlin gestured for Arthur to come in, though he still looked upon Arthur with doubt. He was the only one that knew of Arthur's feelings for Gwen, so he had a reason to be suspicious, but that didn't mean that it didn't irritate Arthur more than anything.

As Arthur carried Gwen in, Gaius appeared from one of the back rooms. “Sire!” he cried out upon seeing Arthur with the sleeping handmaiden in his arms.

“She's fine. She just fell asleep on the way here, but I believe that she hurt her ankle. I was hoping that you would be able to help her,” he said solemnly, still clutching Gwen close to him.

“Of course, of course,” Gaius said softly. “You can lay her down on the spare cot in Merlin's room.”

Nodding, Arthur walked up the stairs to his manservant's room, but he hesitated as he gazed down at the cot. Looking down at Gwen, he found himself hesitant to let her go. He enjoyed having her this close to him, feeling her breath on his chin, her skin against his. He liked watching her sleep, watching her while she was at peace. He knew that he wouldn't be able to continue watching her when he let her go. It would be too suspicious even if Gaius already knew how he felt about Gwen. He just couldn't risk it.

Sighing heavily, Arthur bent down and gently settled her onto the cot. She stirred as he started to pulled his arms out from under her, making him pause as he held his breath, afraid to wake her. She did not wake. Instead, she rolled over so that her back was to him before she fell back into deep slumber. Arthur could not help but feel somewhat sorrowful at the loss of her warmth against him. He was suddenly tempted to pull her back into his arms and run with her to a place where no one would be able to tell him that he couldn't have her, or judge him for wanting to be with her more than anyone else, or take her away from him. He wanted to take her to a place where he could push his pride aside and tell her how much he really cared for her, a place that...would never exist while his father was still on the throne. There was no use dreaming of such a place when he knew that it was so impossible. It would only make the pain more unbearable for him.

Slowly standing up straight, Arthur let out another sigh before he turned around to leave. He found himself stopping abruptly, however, as he nearly bumped heads with his servant, who had been standing right behind him the entire time.

“Gods, Merlin! Why are you just standing there like that? Shouldn't you be helping Gaius or something?” Arthur demanded with a mixture of anger and shock.

“Gaius went to make the salve for Gwen's ankle,” Merlin said solemnly as he looking into Arthur's face, not the least bit daunted by the prince's anger. “What I want to know is how she twisted her ankle again and how that happened,” he said, gazing pointedly towards her.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Arthur turned his head and looked back at Gwen trying to see what Merlin was talking about. He did not see anything right away, just her back, but then suddenly his eyes flicked down and he caught sight of the large tear at the back of her skirt, a large piece ripped right off.

Turning back towards Merlin, Arthur looked into his manservant's face to find him staring back at him with anger, an anger that was directed right at him. He had never seen so much anger in the young man's eyes before and found himself almost caught off guard. Generally, he would have just snapped at Merlin for being so foolish, but the thought of Merlin thinking him capable of hurting Gwen made his stomach suddenly feel like a big ball of goo. He, alone, knew of how strongly Arthur felt for Gwen, and so he should have been able to understand that he was the last person in the world that would wish to harm her.

“I never saw that before,” he replied candidly. “I do know that she was being chased by someone, though. She told me that someone was chasing her. It must have been them. She was frightened when she ran into me, nearly hysterical, but I didn't see anyone when I looked.”

Merlin looked upon him doubtfully. “So you're saying she was chased by a ghost?”

“Don't be ridiculous, Merlin!” Arthur snapped. “I'm just saying that whomever attacked her must have seen me and run away before I could see them.”

“Who would want to attack Gwen?” Merlin demanded as he continued to look at Arthur with his lips pursed.

“How am I supposed to know?” Arthur cried out. “All I know is that whoever it is is going to pay as soon as I get my hands on them, and I'm not going to do that standing here trying to convince you that it wasn't me who hurt her in the first place, even if you-of all people-should know better!” He had not realized he had raised his voice until he heard a groan sound from behind him and looked back to see Gwen once again stirring.

“What's going on in here?” Gaius questioned, suddenly appearing with the newly concocted salve in his hands. He looked up at Arthur glaring at Merlin with a frown. “Forgive me, Sire, but if you wish to reprimand Merlin, I would hope that you would do it elsewhere. I do not wish for Gwen to be awakened,” he whispered as he gestured to Gwen who had fallen back to sleep.

“Yes, of course, Gaius,” Arthur said with a nod, stepping aside to allow the man to get to Gwen. As soon as Gaius had walked by and had his back to them, Arthur reached out and wrapped his arm roughly around Merlin's neck, pulling him into a headlock. He dragged him out of the room, ignoring his painful protests, and down the steps. He kept walking until he had walked out the door and into the darkness of night.

“Ow! Why did you do that for?” Merlin cried out when Arthur had finally let him go.

“I know that you've already jumped to your own conclusions about what happened, so out with it! Tell me what you think happened since you're so brilliant!” Arthur commanded through clenched teeth.

“Well, you have to admit that it looked awkward seeing you carrying in an unconscious Gwen with her skirt looking like an animal had been at it,” Merlin said quietly, his voice no longer angry but filled with uncertainty. “I thought that you hurt her because of what happened with Lancelot.”

Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes sternly. “Do you think that he would really make me want to hurt her, Merlin? Do you think that I'm really that selfish that I would hurt Gwen just because I believed she had fallen in love with another man?” he demanded, his voice now filled more with hurt than with anger.

“Look, I know now that you didn't do it-”

“Well, it's good to see that you're not a complete baffoon!” Arthur cut in coolly.

Merlin sighed. “Gwen has just been through a lot, lately. First she loses her father, then you, then Lancelot,” he said, his voice now filled with concern. “I just don't like seeing her get hurt all of the itme. She has already been looking down these past few months, especially with the women that your father has been trying to force you into marrying. Whatever happened to her tonight, she didn't deserve it.”

Rolling his eyes, Arthur scowled. “I know that, Merlin! That's why I want to head back to the castle to scour ever inch of it, looking for whoever did this to her,” he said testily. “And when I find them, I'm going to make them regret that they ever tried to harm her.” His fists were now clenched and his eyes were filled with such a solemn rage but considering that it was not aimed at him but rather at those who had hurt his friend, Merlin was somewhat pleased.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Merlin offered, his goofy grin returning to his face. “I want to make whoever did this to her to pay, too. I could help you.”

Placing his hand on the young man's shoulders, Arthur sighed. “No, you're needed here,” he said quietly. “You have to watch over her and make sure that whoever tried to get her at the castle doesn't try to get her here. If I could, I'd send every knight I had to come here and watch over her, but I can't even send one here without it looking suspicious to my father. That means that there's only you and Gaius to protect her.”

Merlin nodded eagerly. “Yeah...right. I'll guard her here,” he said, hesitating for a moment before looking back up at Arthur. “Will you be okay...you know, without me?” he then asked, feeling uneasy about Arthur facing a possible threat without him close by to save him if things got too rough.

“And what would you do if you were coming, Merlin? Swing a broom at the attacker?” Arthur questioned him mockingly. He then rolled his eyes as he realized that he was being rude again. “What I mean to say is...I'll be fine. Just make sure you take care of Guinevere.”

“Right. I'll do that,” Merlin replied with another nod, his grin turning into a smirk at the influence Gwen was beginning to have on the crown prince. “I'll go back in right now.”

“That would be a generally good idea,” Arthur said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the simpleton he had for a servant. He watched as the stringy man started for the door before calling out to him. “And Merlin?”

Merlin paused. turning his head to look at the prince over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Whatever happens, please, just make sure you keep her safe,” he stated softly, the first time his voice had ever been so tender while addressing him. “You know how much she means to me.”

She was wandering down the path from the castle on her way home. Morgana had gone to sleep early and that meant that she was able to go home early as well. Though she had failed to see anyone in the castle while she was walking out, she had really thought nothing of it, thinking that the guards were still in the midst of changing while the other servants had already gone home for the night. She ignored the way the hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up and the way her flesh was covered with goose bumps. Pulling her shawl tighter around her, she held up her lamp higher and merely quickened her steps down the empty road to her home.

When she entered the doorway of her little house, Gwen let out a large breath that she had not even been aware that she had been holding in. Placing the lamp on the table next to the doorway, she moved to remove her shawl when she suddenly found herself go completely still. She felt a sudden draft from behind her that chilled her down to the very bone, and ever so faintly, she heard a soft whisper. 'Guinevere,' it said.

Suddenly recollection seemed to dawn on her of a similar situation, one that she had barely escaped from before. Gwen abruptly felt a strong sense of dread. Though she somehow already knew that she wouldn't like what was behind her, she slowly turned around. Standing in the far corner of the room, just outside of the boundaries of the ball of light that was coming from her little lamp was the creature that had attacked her in the castle. Her face was still hidden by her dark tresses that still blew around her by the magical wind, her eyes being the only seen feature, and they were still as black as ever. Regardless of the fact that her little flame was fairly strong and still held a fairly wide circle, Gwen felt like the distance between them was still too close for comfort.

'Guinevere,' the creature spoke, though her lips did not appear to be moving. It seemed to sound right inside of her head, making Gwen wince as it sounded like the cries of a thousand screaming children when she spoke her name. It was so different from the other voice that always made her name sound more like a prayer rather than a curse. “You are the one, Guinevere, the one who will set me free,' the creature continued.

Pressing her back against her door, Gwen shook her head. “This isn't real,” she chanted to herself as she closed her eyes. “You're not really here. This is just a dream,” she tried to tell herself.

'Don't be foolish, Guinevere,' the woman spoke. Gwen opened her eyes to find herself staring straight into the face of the morbid creature. She had gotten closer with the light already beginning to fade. 'Though this is a dream and my power's are weak, I am still powerful enough to pass through the barriers into your pathetic thoughts. I shall have you as mine, and there is no way you can stop it.'

“Why me? Why do you want me?”Gwen demanded, her eyes glistening with tears that refused to fall, even now.

The creature gazed at the lamp and just like the torches in the castle, the flames faded and suddenly, Gwen found herself completely surrounded by black. The creature moved upon her slowly, the shadows that cloaked her slowly moving to surround Gwen. The maidservant was shaking. She did not have the ability to scream because of how petrified she was. She was only able to stand and stare at her death as it grew closer...and closer.

Just as she felt her end to be near, the she-creature suddenly stopped. 'It is because of this that you are the perfect instrument, Guinevere,' she said as she suddenly reached out and placed her palm against Gwen's chest. The handmaiden nearly screamed as it felt like someone had placed a handful of snow upon her breast, but she dared not even make a sound as she continued to gaze up into the face of her attacker. 'Your heart is strong, and yet it feels that with each beat, there is pain...such blissful pain. There is so much power in that pain, I can sense it.'

The unfelt wind that blew around the woman's head suddenly grew stronger, this time blowing the raven tresses away from the woman's face. Gwen wished that she could become a part of the door to get away from what she was seeing. She found herself face to face with a corpse whose face looked as though it may have been beautiful many years before, but was now terrifying and...dead. It was a sight that Gwen knew she would have nightmares of if she was allowed to ever dream again. It almost made her wiling to accept the end if it meant that she would no longer have to look upon that face.

Gwen suddenly found herself screaming at the top of her lungs as she suddenly felt the most intense pain that she had ever felt in her entire life, coursing through her body. It was emanating from the cold palm on her chest, right above her heart. The hand that had felt like ice before suddenly felt like it was setting her entire body on fire, making her cry out with pain. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited-wanted- for the end to come already, but it seemd like each second that past was more like an eternity. Opening her eyes, she half-expected to see her entire body covered in flames, but instead, she merely found that her body was still the same, only the hand on her breast was beginnning to glow, a dull-blue glow. All the while, she was still screaming.

“Gwen!”

Through her screams, she could hear the sound of her name being called though it sounded faint and far away. She knew that it sounded familiar but the pain and the fear that was gripping her would not let her remember.

“Gwen, wake up!”

The voice sounded urgent, and Gwen could swear that the name of the owner was at the tip of her tongue. It was someone she cared for, someone she trusted, but the pain of what she was being inflicted with was still too strong for her to recollect it.

“Gwen, open your eyes! Gwen!”

The voice was growing closer. It was Merlin! Merlin was near. She could almost smell feel his presence in the midst of all of the blackness. Now, she knew who it was, and she felt that if she could just cry out his name, she would be okay.

'No!' the creature screamed, her face suddenly contorted with rage, making it appear even more hideous than it had been before. 'No, I'm almost done! NO!' but suddenly, the creature's hand retracted as if it was pushed away from Gwen's chest by some unseen force. It was then that Gwen caught sight of the mark on the woman's arm that she had not seen before. It was a symbol-the symbol of a triangle with a circle around it, the circle being the pupil of a large eye on the her wrist. Gwen could have sworn that she had seen it before, but she could not recolect wherel, her relief too great at no longer being able to feel the pain that the woman was inflicing upon her, and also because of the way Merlin's voice was growing louder, sounding closer.

“Gwen, if you can hear me, wake up!”

“Merlin!” Gwen screamed at the top of her lungs, squeezing her eyes shut to look away from the anger-filled face of her undead attacker. “Merlin!”

Gwen suddenly felt firm hands grasp her shoulders, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself no longer in her home but in a well-lit room that seemed very familiar. She looked up to find herself staring up into the eyes of her closest and dearest friend. It was his hands that were on her shoulder. Apparently, he had been trying to shake her awake. Standing behind him, but still close by was Gaius. Both were looking upon her with concern and worry in their eyes. She realized that she was in Merlin's room.

Not even thinking, Gwen sat up and wrapped her arms around Merlin, her breaths heavy as she gasped for air. She squeezed him as hard as she could, needing to tell herself that he was really there. She was trembling as she held him, her heart pounding so loud in her ears that she almost didn't hear Gaius's low voice as it spoke to her.

“You were screaming, Gwen,” he said solemnly. “You were screaming like you were in terrible pain, and no matter what Merlin did, you wouldn't wake up.”

Pulling away from Merlin, Gwen looked up into his face and then into Gaius's. “I dreamed of the woman who attacked me in the castle,” she said, her voice shaking as she continued to tremble. “Except, she wasn't a woman-at least not anymore. She said that I was the one who was going to set her free, and she said it was because of my heart-at least I think it was my heart, because then she put her hand right over it. That's when I started to scream. It was so...painful...and it made me feel like she was...” she dropped off as she felt tears begin to fill her eyes at the hopelessness she had felt as well as the pain that had seared through her entire body. Instinctly, she raised her hand up to the place where the woman had placed her hand, and suddenly she found herself wincing at the pain she felt when she touched it. There was real pain.

“What in the heavens?” Gaius cried out, watching her wince. He pushed Merlin gently aside as he knelt down and moved her hand away from the spot that she had touched. Gwen watched as the old man's eyes suddenly grew wide before he rose again, backing away from her as if he were afraid.

Merlin looked at Gaius before returning his eyes back to Gwen. Leaning in closer, he reached out and inspected the place where Gaius had been looking, and Gwen watched as his eyes, too, suddenly grew wide. Immediately, she became frightened again.

“What? What is it?” she cried as she looked down. Right away, she found what they had been looking at and suddenly found herself becoming frantic.

On Gwen's skin, in exactly the place where the witch had placed her hand, Gwen saw that her skin was red as if it had been burned. Not only was it red, but the red was in the exact image of the hand that had left the mark.

“What is this!?! I thought it was just a dream?” she cried out, looking from one man to the other. “I thought it was just a dream! How is it possible that she was able to really burn me?”

“I shall go and make a salve to put on it,” Gaius said quietly, his statement somewhat evasive. “Merlin, come and help me.”

Merlin looked up at Gaius, confused that the older man would want him to leave Gwen when she was so shaken. Upon seeing the look in Gaius's eyes, however, he immediately stood up. Gaius walked out of the room and down the stairs and Merlin moved to follow. He gave Gwen a reassuring look before he, too, walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, before descending the stairs to where Gaius was pacing.

“What was that all about? What was that mark?” Merlin questioned the old man. “Why did you look like you were afraid when you saw it?”

Gaius stopped pacing in front of Merlin and looked upon him seriously. “I haven't seen that mark in years, Merlin, not since I was a small boy. If you had seen it the same way I had, you would be as afraid as I am now.”

Merlin shook his head. “I don't understand. What is that mark?”

Gaius closed his eyes as he let out a deep sigh. “A long time ago, before Uther banished magic, some of the most powerful magic wielders were the enchantresses. They could heal the greatest illnesses and were able to do a great deal of good, but if you crossed one, there were dire consequences, for they were known to make those that defied them suffer cruelly and excruciatingly. That mark on Gwen is the same mark that was generally found on those who had wronged an enchantress. We called the mark, 'the mark of the doomed' because those who found that mark on them usually died horrible deaths not long after receiving them.”

Merlin shook his head as he stared into Gaius's face. “Are you saying that an enchantress has marked Gwen and wants to kill her?” he demanded, attempting to keep his voice down so that Gwen would not hear. “Well, I won't let anything happen to her. I'll protect her,” he then stated firmly. “They'll have to get through me before they can get to her.”

Gaius averted his eyes to the ground. “I fear that if Gwen bears that mark, she may not have a great deal of time before whomever wants her tries to get her again. We're dealing with a very old magic, Merlin, one nearly as old as the Dragon.” He looked at the young wizard solemnly, “But I trust that you'll be able to fight it, and I'll be right beside you.”

Feeling a great deal of pride in having Gaius actually working with him, Merlin nodded his head. “Thank you, Gaius,” he said sincerely.

Nodding back, the apothecary sighed before turning around. “I'll make another salve for Gwen that will soothe the pain of the mark and make her a drought for her to make it so that she doesn't dream when she falls asleep. I only hope that it will work to keep the one who's attacking her at bay,” he stated, his voice filled with weariness.

“Then, I'll go back to Gwen, and try and keep her calm,” Merlin replied as he watched his friend getting to work.

Merlin turned and ran back up the stairs to his room, opening the door to find Gwen crouched into a ball on the cot, rocking back and forth as she gared sightlessly at the wall. She looked up at him and lifted her head to smile at him-her gentle nature shining through despite the fear that still clung onto her. Closing the door behind him, Merlin went to her and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her close. Gwen leaned into him, her head lying against his chest.

“I'm afraid, Merlin,” she said quietly though her voice was steadier now. “Every time I close my eyes, I see her, and now I'm not sure if she's really there or not.”

Pulling her even tighter to him, Merlin gently rubbed her upper arm soothingly. “We'll protect you, Gwen,” he said quietly. “We're all going to be here for you just like you've always been there for all of us. We won't let anything or anyone hurt you.”

“She's everywhere, Merlin. She was in the castle, then she was in my dreams, and I feel like she's always going to be there. I just wish...” she paused as a single tear suddenly coursed down her dusky cheek. “I wish she'd just go away.”

Merlin and Gwen both had dark circles under their eyes as they both walked up the steps towards the castle. They had been up all night after Gwen's nightmare because Gwen was too afraid to go back to sleep, and Merlin couldn't blame her. He had stayed up with her the rest of the night while she talked to him about the events that had taken place at the castle and then the details concerning the nightmare, including how she had seen the mark on the enchantress's wrist when she had pulled it away from her chest. Gwen had struggled at times as she recounted her tale, but Merlin was always there to comfort her whenever it appeared too difficult for her to continue.

He had tried to get Gwen to stay in for the day to recover from the previous night, telling her that he would tell Morgana that she was not feeling well, but Gwen refused. She had insisted that she would go in as usual, though she would have to wear her red dress considering her purple dress still had been ruined. Even though she was exhausted, she was still too afraid to go to sleep, and she thought that working would be the best way for her to be able to stay awake and occupy her mind with other things. Besides, every servant was needed because the Calan Gaeaf Feast that would be taking place that night, and there was no rest for the weary. She had tried to smile and tell Merlin that she would be all right, but he knew better. Even when faced with a threat, he knew that she just did not want to be a burden to anyone, not that he would ever consider her a burden.

He led her up the steps that she had run down the previous night. He could hear her breath become jagged behind him as they walked up, no doubt from the memory of how she had been chased the last time she had been there. When he reached the top of the steps, he paused, waiting for her to join him. It was as he was watching her approach that he noticed that her hand was covering the red fabric of her older dress that was concealing the enchantress's mark. She seemed to be groping it as though it was causing her pain.

“Is it hurting you?” he questioned as she stopped in front of him, knowing that she would know to what 'it' he was referring to.

Gwen looked up at him with confusion before she looked down and dropped her hand swiftly as if she had been unaware that she had been covering it all. “No,” she then answered quickly. “No, it's not hurting me.”

Resisting the urge to frown at her, Merlin nodded. “Right, well, if it does, be sure to find Gaius or me,” he stated. “Hopefully Gaius will be able to find out who the symbol belongs to so we can find out why this is happening to you. Until then, you should stick with Morgana at all times. You shouldn't be alone.”

Gwen gave him a sincere smile as she reached out and gently squeezed his hand in her own. “Thank you for being so concerned for me, Merlin, but I really will be fine,” she said softly as she looked up into his brown eyes. “With you and Gaius on my side, I know that everything will turn out okay.”

“Arthur's on your side, too, Gwen,” Merlin commented, watching her face closely for her reaction.

Gwen's face remained neutral as she stared back. “Arthur shouldn't have to worry about this. He has other things that he should concern himself with, not me,” she replied solemnly.

She managed to hide any and all emotion from her face, but even as she spoke those words, she suddenly felt a tingling in the mark at her breast. She almost reached up to it again, but she resisted the urge because she knew that if Merlin was watching her closely, he would most likely drag her back to Gaius's, even if she kicked and screamed.

“He cares for you, you know,” Merlin said quietly, his eyes suddenly averted to the ground. “Maybe the two of you should talk about...this...thing between the two of you.”

“There's nothing to talk about, Merlin,” Gwen snapped, her weariness making her generally fair temperance somewhat lessened. “He's the prince of Camelot, the future king while I'm just a servant. There's no point in talking because there's nothing that can ever come of this. He's even said so himself so what good would talking about it do but make it even more difficult than it already is to accept the inevitable.”

“Yeah, but if-”

“We should really be going,” Gwen cut in, evading his response as she turned her face to hide the blush that was rising to her cheeks. “Morgana should be waking up soon, and she'll need me to help her get ready for the morning.” She turned and headed for Morgana's door, Merlin following close behind.

She waited for him as she reached the door, an apologetic smile on her face as she looked up at him. She felt bad that she had been miffed with him when he had only tried to help. She hated that the recent events had made her so short-tempered and snappy with him when she would never have gotten so angry so fast with him before.

“I'm so sorry,” she said as he stood in front of her. “I know that you're just trying to help, Merlin, but I really just don't want to talk about...him,” she said, her heart already beating a little faster. “I already feel like I can see and hear him everywhere. I just don't...I don't want to talk about it.”

Merlin was about to open his mouth to say something more when he suddenly paused at the sound of raised voices coming from the other side of Morgana's door. He could distinctly hear Morgana saying, 'What were you thinking?' followed closely by the all-too-familiar voice of his master, 'Well, what was I supposed to do? He has already tried to make me marry two women already, and they've both been failures. I wasn't just going to stand back and let him try and pair me up with another princess.'

Merlin looked down at Gwen with his eyebrows furrowed. “I don't think it's just you,” he whispered. “I swear that I hear Arthur's voice, too,” he then said, puzzled.

Gwen placed her finger to her lips to silence him as she continued to listen to the voices as they continued to speak.

'You're hiding something, Arthur Pendragon,' they heard Morgana suddenly say. 'Why would you object so strongly to even meeting the woman unless...' she suddenly paused before she continued with: 'there was someone else you have your eyes on!'

'Drop it, Morgana, I don't want to talk about this!” Arthur snapped.

'Then, there is someone!” Morgana cried out.

'Morgana...” Arthur said warningly.

'Who is she, Arthur?' Morgana continued to demand. 'Is she common? Is that why you are hiding her? Is she the same woman that the guards saw you carrying around the castle last night? Is this why your father wants to marry you off now?'

“Morgana! Enough!' Arthur yelled, causing both Merlin and Gwen to jump at the harshness in his voice. They could hear Morgana's gasp through the wood, which angered Gwen a little considering that she disliked her friend being talked to in such away.

They both heard Arthur sigh before they heard him speak again. 'Look, I'm sorry,' he said quietly. 'I don't mean to snap, but I don't want to talk about her-it...I mean it.'

'I knew it!' Morgana cried out triumphantly, but it was followed by silence, no doubt due to Arthur brooding about his secret being somewhat revealed.

'Arthur, you know that I'm here to listen to you if you need to talk,' Morgana then said slowly, her voice a little uncertain. 'But, maybe...if you won't speak to me...you should speak to her.”

'And how am I supposed to do that? I don't even know if she feels the same about me anymore. She deserves someone who can openly show her how much he cares, and I can't do that! Father would never allow me to be with her, and if I ever tried to, Father would most likely harm her in some way, and I could never live with that.'

Gwen closed her eyes as she once again placed her hand on the hidden mark that suddenly seemed to be now flaming on her chest. She could feel tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door. She could feel Merlin's worried-filled eyes on her, but she didn't dare to look at him for fear that she wouldn't be able to control the tears that were already threatening to fall.

'You sound like you care about her a lot,' Morgana said solemnly. 'I don't think I've ever seen you like this with anyone...or anything before. She must be truly special.'

'Please...Please, do not push this any further, Morgana. I don't wish to discuss her anymore,' Arthur said sullenly.

'Fine, I'll stop asking you about her, but I do want to know what you plan on telling your father about Ophelia.'

There was a moment of silence where Gwen and Merlin were both holding their breaths, waiting for a response. Unfortunately when someone spoke again, it was Morgana, though she was slowly pushing for an answer from him.

'What are you going to do, Arthur?' the king's ward questioned the prince once again. 'He wants to announce your possible engagement at the feast. He nearly threw you in the dungeons this morning for your refusal. If you refuse him again, he might actually throw you in there or just force you into marrying her. What would you do then?'

'I don't know what to do! There's only one option that I can choose, but I still don't want to choose it even if it would make Father happy. Everything is just so...so confusing!' Arthur cried out in a tone filled with a mixture of sorrow and anger that struck Gwen in the core, knowing that he was feeling pain on her behalf. 'With everything that's happening...it makes me almost wish that I had never met her...'

Gwen couldn't bear to listen to another word, both mentally as well as physically as she suddenly felt like the mark was setting her entire body on fire. She knew that the 'her' he was speaking of was her, and before she could stop herself, she cried out in pain, hunching over as she pressed both of her hands to her heart that suddenly felt as though it were exploding in her chest. Backing away from the door, she pressed her back against the opposite wall of the corridor, hunching over herself with both of her hands still pressed to her breast. Merlin was immediately at her side as the door of the the room opened, revealing Morgana and Arthur in the doorway-both looking at the two servants with frowns and confused expressions.

Morgana, upon seeing Gwen in pain, quickly ran to her friend's side, her pale face filled with worry. “Gwen? Gwen! What's the matter? What happened? Are you hurt?”

“It's the m-” Merlin began but was immediately cut off.

“It's nothing!” Gwen suddenly cried out. She shot him a pleading look, silently begging him not to tell them the truth of her condition before she looked up into her mistress's face. “I mean...I just wasn't feeling well, and Merlin tried to tell me that I should stay home, but I thought that you would need me for the preparations for tonight, so I came anyway, and I-”

Morgana reached up and cupped Gwen's flaming cheek with her hand, ending the handmaiden's babbling. The worry, however, was still evident in her pale eyes. “Gwen, you're burning up!” she exclaimed as she nearly pulled her hand away at the heat that she felt against her palm from her handmaiden's cheek. “Merlin was right. You should have stayed home, but now, I want you to go see Gaius, right now. I fear that you may need more than rest. You will go to him, won't you?”

“Yes, my lady,” Gwen said quietly, averting her eyes to the ground to avoid the eyes of the one who still stood in the doorway. “I'm sorry about all of this-”

“Gwen, this was completely out of your hands. You can't help that you feel unwell,” Morgana said softly as she continued to gaze down into Gwen's face with her hand still pressed to her dusky cheek. “You look tired. Promise me that you'll rest.”

Nodding her head, a ghost of a smile touched Gwen's lips. “Thank you, my lady. I will.”

Turning around quickly, Gwen curtseyed curtly to both Morgana and Arthur before heading towards the stairs, her hand still pressed to her chest the entire time. She ran down the stairs almost as quickly as she had the previous night, despite the tenderness of her ankle. She nearly stumbled at the bottom again, but she stayed on her feet this time, though she had to pause to catch her breath as she leaned against the wall.

The mark was no longer unbearable, the pain slowly ebbing away as she caught her breath. It seemed that the more space she placed between Arthur and herself, the more the pain from the mark lessened. She didn't know what to make of that.

As she continued to regain her breath, she suddenly felt a gentle hand on her arm that nearly made her cry out, but looking up, she was relieved to see that it was just Merlin looking upon her with concern.

“Arthur said that it was all right for me to take you back to Gaius's,” he said quietly. “He wants to make sure that you make it there, all right. We both don't want you to be alone.”

Smiling up at him, Gwen slowly shook her head. “I'll be fine, Merlin, it was just a little tingle,” she lied as she continued to place her hand over the cloth of her dress that covered the mark. She averted her eyes. “I'll be all right, I swear. There's plenty of people and daylight around, so I don't think that she'll come for me now. You don't have to hold my hand...Not that you would hold my hand...I mean, you don't need to hold it...I mean-”

“I know what you mean, Gwen,” Merlin said gently as he grinned down at her flushed face. He then grew serious once again. “Are you sure that you'll be fine going by yourself? I wouldn't mind taking you; in fact, I wouldn't mind getting away from Arthur for a while.”

“As much as I would be happy to help you, Merlin, I really will be fine, and I think the walk alone will help me clear my head,” she answered gently. She paused as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and she knew that it would be Arthur. “Please, don't tell him about what happened last night,” she then pleaded quickly to Merlin as she looked up into the direction of the stairwell. “I don't want him to worry about this when he already has so much to think about. I'd rather we just keep it between Gaius, you and me.”

Merlin frowned. “But he would want to know, Gwen. He was really concerned for you last night after he brought you-”

“Please, Merlin, I'm begging you as your friend, not to tell him. I really don't want him to worry anymore about me. He doesn't need this, right now,” Gwen pleaded again. She looked up as the steps grew louder. “I have to go, but please, Merlin...” she trailed off as her eyes spoke the rest, don't get him involved.

She turned and started off. Merlin watched, silently, as Gwen practically ran down the corridor, disappearing around the corner just as Arthur exited the stairway, looking at him with confusion.

“I thought that you were going to be taking Guinevere back to Gaius's,” Arthur, said as he looked around as if expecting Gwen to suddenly appear out of a nook or crack. “Why are you here but she isn't?”

“She wanted to go alone, and considering that there is a lot of daylight and there are a lot of people around, I thought that she would be fine,” Merlin said solemnly, turning his back towards the prince. He found himself somewhat disappointed in Arthur for saying what he did about wishing that he had never met Gwen. He knew that, more than anything, was the reason why Gwen wanted to be alone.

Arthur, no doubt sensing the coldness from Merlin, looked at his manservant solemnly. “How much did the two of you hear back there?” he asked quietly.

Merlin huffed. “She heard enough to know that you wish that you hadn't ever met her,” he stated, looking at Arthur over his shoulder.

Arthur ran his hand over his nose and mouth, down to his chin- frustration evident in his eyes. He began to pace back and forth across the width of the corridor, his hand still on his chin as though he were deep in thought. After a moment, however, he stopped and faced Merlin.

“How can she be upset at me for saying that when she was the one who was making eyes at Lancelot after we rescued them?” Arthur cried out, the irritation of the situation laced in his tone.

“Well, I'm sure Lancelot would never say something that would make him look like such an ass,” Merlin said lowly, his arms folded as he turned his body to face Arthur's. He was getting angry, and it was because Arthur was being a prat again, while one of his closest friends was suffering. “As far as I can tell, you are only man here making her life more difficult when she already had problems of her own. Yet, she still cares enough for you not to want to burden you with her problems even though her problems include the inability to sleep because evil enchantresses will most likely attack her in her dreams!”

Arthur's brows furrowed, as confusion took the place of irritation. “What are you talking about Merlin? What evil enchantress?” he questioned. He then grew more concerned. “What happened last night?”

Merlin really wanted to bite his tongue at his mad rant, considering that he had done the one thing that Gwen had begged him not to, which was tell Arthur about her predicament. Grinding his teeth, he closed his eyes, silently rebuking himself for failing her even though he had thought her request somewhat absurd considering that there was no point hiding anything from Arthur because he could just order it out of him, anyway. Opening, his eyes, he found Arthur right in front of him, looking at him impatiently as he expected an answer.

“Gwen told me that she didn't want you involved with what's happening to her,” Merlin said, defeated, knowing what was going to come next.

“Merlin, if you don't tell me what happened last night to Guinevere after I left her in your care, I'm going to send you to the stocks for a week!” Arthur barked. “Out with it. Now!”

Even though he would have willingly gone to the stocks for Gwen on a number of occasions, Merlin could see by the anxiety in his royal friend's face that this was not going to be one of those times. Sighing heavily, he recounted the events that had occurred the previous nights such as: hearing Gwen screaming and not being able to wake her up, shaking her awake and having her tell Gaius and him about the nightmare, and Gaius finding the mark on her chest and telling him what it was, which he ended up revealing to Gwen. He almost stopped when he was describing the way Gwen had been afraid to fall asleep even with the droughts Gaius offered because of how he noticed how Arthur's hands had suddenly clenched into fists, but Arthur remained silent as Merlin finished with how she had refused to stay with Gaius that morning. The next thing Merlin knew, however, he was suddenly chasing after Arthur who was walking rather quickly in the same direction in which Gwen had disappeared moments before.

“Sire? Where exactly are we going?” Merlin questioned as he found himself struggling to keep up.

“We're going to see Gaius to inquire on whether or not he has found out who the symbol belongs to, and if he has, then we're going to find them so that I may run my sword through them,” Arthur called back over his shoulder, nonchalantly, though Merlin could sense the fury that was the underlying tone.

Though he was having difficulties catching him, Merlin managed to gather up enough energy to make a dash forward so that he could cut off the young prince at the top of the stairs that led down to the courtyard.

“No, no, that's not a good idea,” he said objectionably through his heavy breaths. “First of all, Gwen doesn't want you to be concerned, and if she finds out that I concerned you with her, she will be very upset with me. Second of all, Gaius said that the enchantresses were very powerful magic-wielders, more powerful than the sorcerers we-you've dealt with before. Ramming a sword through the enchantress's chest is not going to be so simple. And finally, you really do have to figure out what to tell your father tonight about Ophelia.”

Arthur opened his mouth to shout at Merlin to remove himself from his path, when he suddenly saw Gaius ascending the stone steps rather quickly for a man his age, coming right towards them. The old physician's face looked wary as he reached the two men, his breaths heavier than Merlin's had been only moments before which indicated that he had run the entire way from his chambers. Arthur and Merlin waited patiently, as they watched the older man regain his composure, though in the back of their minds both men were thinking: If Gaius is here, then where is Gwen/Guinevere?

“I've found something concerning the symbol that Gwen saw in her dreams,” Gaius finally spoke after the moment's recuperation he had taken. “I'm afraid that what we're dealing with is far worse than a mere angry enchantress.”

Arthur frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I found out from a certain source-” he cut Merlin a serious look that told the young man that he was referring to the Dragon- “that this mark belonged to a certain group of enchantresses that were determined to rule all of Albion, and very nearly succeeded. Their plans were thwarted only when one of their own, an enchantress known as Norena, betrayed her sisters.”

Noticing that they were being watched by a number of the guards-no doubt some of the same ones who had betrayed him to his father about carrying Guinevere-Arthur cleared his throat and started walking down the steps, looking to Gaius and Merlin to follow.

As they began to walk towards the physician's quarters, Arthur spoke in a more quiet tone.

“So is it this Norena that we have to worry about since she had the others destroyed?” he asked Gaius. “Shouldn't that be a good thing that we know who we're now dealing with so we can find her and destroy her for good?”

“That's not entirely accurate, my lord,” Gaius said slowly, as if hesitant to continue. “Norena was burned at the stake not long after her sisters.”

“Then who was it that attacked Gwen, then?” Merlin asked the obvious question.

“The source still indicates that it may be Norena, but it could be that she's attacking Gwen from beyond the grave,” Gaius answered solemnly. “That makes her an even more dangerous adversary considering that normal mortal means wouldn't be able to destroy her. It also said that tonight happens to be a night when the veil between the mortal life and after life is thinnest, so if she does attack, it will most likely occur tonight.”

“I don't understand. How are we supposed to protect Guinevere if we don't even know how to kill the one who's threatening her?” Arthur demanded just as they reached the doors to Gaius's chambers. “Is it even possible to kill a being that's already dead?”

“I think that what we should consider first is why this enchantress is targeting Gwen in the first place. If we can find that out, we may be able to find a way to stop her, and then we can even find a way to destroy her,” Gaius said quietly.

“Then, we should talk to Gwen,” Merlin suggested as they all walked in. “Maybe she can tell us about the dream again and we can look for more clues that way.”

Arthur grew thoughtful for a moment as he looked around . “Yes...we can discuss this more with her. She must be here already since she left a little while ago to come see you, Gaius,” he said as he looked around the room eagerly, his cool demeanor suddenly changing at the prospect of seeing her, but when she did not come forward, he frowned. “Where is she?”

Merlin and Gaius were on the verge of asking the very same question as they too found the room to be completely empty. Seeing the puzzled look on their faces only made Arthur feel as though his heart had dropped in his stomach. He had assumed that she had come here even after Gaius had come up to them because she had said that she was going to see Gaius. He knew that she wouldn't lie. So where was she?

“Maybe she stopped by her house first, my lord? Or maybe she went to pick some flowers to clear her head?” Gaius said calmly as he watched Arthur walking around the room, searching, as if Gwen would suddenly appear to him. “I'm sure she's fine.”

“Yes. It's still daylight, and there are-” Merlin started but was silenced by the hard look that Arthur shot him.

“Lots of people...I know,” Arthur finished for him.

The words were meant to be reassuring, but Arthur found no comfort in them. They were just words, conjectures, guesses. They weren't certainties, which meant that there was a possibility that they were wrong and Gwen was really in danger. They didn't know for sure if she was safe or even where she was. They only knew one thing, and that on thing was: She Wasn't There.

Gwen had every intention of going to Gaius's after she had left Merlin by the steps, but when she had walked out of the castle doors and felt the cool, crisp wind blow her curls around her face and the warm sun on her cheeks, she had decided to take...a detour. This particular detour led her just outside of the castle walls to a golden field where she knew she could find some of the last remaining flowers of the season. She justified such a detour by saying that those flowers would be perfect for Gaius's study and would be a sufficient 'thank you' for him and Merlin for what they were doing for her. The truth of the matter, however, and one that she could not ignore, was that she was just desperate to break free and to get some real air.

With the events pertaining to the Enchantress and the whole situation with Arthur, the handmaiden had felt as though she were becoming someone who was just watching while the last grains of her life just fell into the bottom half of the hourglass. She felt somewhat imprisoned with the way Merlin, Gaius, and even Arthur were treating her and even the way they looked at her. She was grateful for each and every one, but she wanted to feel alive again and she wanted freedom, and she couldn't feel those with them around.

She found that freedom when she walked out into the apparently empty field and felt the October breeze on her skin and took in the fragrance of the hydrangeas and daisies into her nose. She found peace as she watched the red and golden leaves of the trees that surrounded the field, move with the wind, swaying, as if dancing. She found solace in the silence that allowed her to forget all of the horrid events from the past day and even the past few months, and she found a small grain of happiness when she closed her eyes and saw nothing but the sun shining through her lids.

Opening her eyes again, Gwen found herself looking upon a certain tree on the far edge of the field that stood out. It was by far taller and larger than the other trees beside or behind it, seemingly older than the rest. A sincere smile of joy touched her lips as she walked towards it, a memory she held dear suddenly flashing before her eyes of her as a small girl with bouncy curls sitting on the lap of her father underneath that tree. She saw the two of them laughing, sharing in the joys of a special moment shared just with father and daughter. It was one of her fondest memories that she had shared with him.

As Gwen reached the tree, she bent down and found the mark that her father had pointed to her on that day: 'Tom + Farrah' it said, the names surrounded by a rather jagged but decipherable heart. Brushing her fingers across the markings, she closed her eyes again, and immediately, the image from a time long passed resurfaced in her head, and she heard her father's voice as it spoke gently to her, explaining the mark and its significance to her.

'Do you see that Gwennie?' Tom's voice whispered into her younger self's ear. 'That's how I told your mother that I loved her and wanted her to be my wife.'

'Really?' she heard the younger version of herself whisper back, the voice filled with awe. 'Why did you do it like that, Daddy?'

'Because trees live longer than people, Gwen, and I wanted a peace of the love I had for your mother to stay alive long after she and I were gone. I'm glad I did because now I have something to show you about your mother and me,' her father answered her softly as he kissed the back of her head. He then pointed to a spot on the tree right above the markings he had been pointing to before. 'You see those markings right above your mother's and mine, Gwennie?'

'Yeah.' Young Gwen had looked up and vaguely saw what appeared to be two small carvings further up the trunk of the tree. 'Did you do those, too?'

'No. Those symbols up there were what gave me the idea for the mark I made your mother. Those markings were there even when I was a boy, and I used to think that they belonged to people who loved each other, just like I loved your mother.' he whispered quietly, his voice somewhat reverent towards the people who had left the mark before. 'Their carving was there long before ours, but I hope that the mark I left for your mother will last just as long, hopefully remaining there forever so that people years from now can see us together even if we aren't.'

He gently lifted Gwen off of his lap as he reached down and pulled out the knife he carried on his belt. He worked at the trunk for a while before pulling the young Gwen back to his side, squeezing her gently. 'So that you can be with us forever, too, Gwennie,' he explained, pointing to his new marking.

When she opened her eyes again, Gwen felt moisture on her cheeks from the tears that had fallen down her face at the memory. Through her blurred vision, she looked at the marking that her father had made that day. Just below the heart that he had made for her mother, scratched in crude but still eligible writing was her name: Guinevere.

Sighing, Gwen reached out and brushed her fingers across the carving of her name before flicking her eyes up at the markings that her father had pointed for her to look at before, the markings that he had believed were there long before he had put her mother's and his name on the tree. She had only given those markings a quick glance at first, but she immediately doubled back, for she thought that she had not seen them clearly, her thoughts making her see things that weren't really there. When she looked closer, however, she felt as though the air had been sucked right out of lungs and made her rub her eyes to make sure that she was seeing things correctly.

The markings above her father's consisted of two symbols: the symbol of the dragon-which was the royal crest symbol of the Pendragon Family, and right next to it was the symbol that had been in her thoughts nearly all of the that day and the previous night-the symbol of the eye with the triangle in the pupil. It was the symbol of the Enchantress. The realization hit home to Gwen as to why she had recognized the symbol on the woman's wrist when she had first seen it. She had seen that mark before when she was a little girl on this very tree!

Backing away, Gwen felt the mark on her breast suddenly begin to tingle again, but this time it wasn't the burning like she had felt before in the castle when she was with Merlin. The tingling she felt now, was actually...cold. It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but Gwen knew that it was different. She wasn't sure whether to be afraid or relieved that it wasn't the same burning pain. As she backed away, however, she felt the tingle fading, but when she dared to take a step forward, it grew stronger and proceeded to continue growing stronger as she walked back to the tree and looked back up at the mark.

She knew that the markings meant something, she found herself growing curious of the symbols on the tree. Why was Arthur's Family's symbol next to the Enchantress's. What was it supposed to mean? Was it supposed to be curse left by the same enchantress that was haunting her? Was her father wrong in his assumption of how the symbols were left? Surprisingly, Gwen did not think that he was. The markings were close together. They didn't appear to have been left out of malice, but out of joy or even...love. It had to mean something!

Gwen considered running back to the city and telling Merlin and Gaius about her new discovery, but something strong was keeping her standing there, transfixed on those marks. Hesitating for a moment, she let out a heavy breath before slowly reaching out to brush her fingers across the carvings just like she had brushed her fingers across the other marks that had belonged to her and her family.

As soon as her fingers touched the bark, the tingling in her breast suddenly grew so intense that it was almost uncomfortable to her but still not quite. A cold wind, colder than the cooler breezes that she had felt before, suddenly began to blow around her, stronger and faster than anything she had felt before. It was like a tornado funnel had suddenly appeared right around her. Gwen had to close her eyes to keep them from becoming dry from the gusts of wind that surrounded her. She then suddenly felt as though something had hooked itself around her and was pulling her right towards the tree. She felt like she was moving, but when she looked down, she saw that her feet were still planted on the ground, unmoved. Becoming afraid, she felt a scream building up inside her throat. Before she could even open her lips to let it out, however, she was pulled into blackness, and then...there was only darkness.

When she came to, Gwen found herself lying next to the large oak, though she sensed that something was different...something was off. For one thing, it was raining-rather it was pouring-when there hadn't even been a cloud in the sky before. Sitting up, she looked up at the tree, and immediately what she had sensed before of things being different suddenly was confirmed. The bark of the trunk held no marks, the two symbols that had seemingly brought her here as well as those of her family were gone.

Standing up slowly, Gwen dusted off her dress and dared to walk out into the field. The rain was cold against her skin, but it was somewhat soothing. She turned around slowly as she took in her surroundings. It was the exact same field that she had been in before but then again, it wasn't. The leaves were no longer yellow and red, but green, the field now filled with spring blossoms rather than the autumn blooms that she had planned to pick for Gaius. She had a feeling that she had been taken to a different time, but she was uncertain how that was possible or for what reason. The only thing she did know was that she was afraid and wanted to go home.

The sound of hoof beats suddenly sounded behind her. Gwen looked up to find a rider fast approaching, though she could not see their face because of the hooded cloak that covered the rider's face with shadows. From the apparent build and stature, she guessed that it was a man. He didn't appear to be slowing down at all, almost as if he hadn't seen her as he pushed his horse to continue to run right for her. Crying out at how fast he was approaching, Gwen immediately ran back to the tree and crouched down next to it, uncertain of what she should do or how she should react to this stranger. She closed her eyes and hoped that he would pass right by or that she could possibly force herself awake if this was just another bad dream.

When she heard the hoof beats suddenly stop, Gwen opened her eyes again. The rider had stopped right before reaching the tree. She watched, trembling, as he dismounted his horse, which she now noticed was a beautiful, gray gelding. Commoners could not afford such beautiful animals, so Gwen assumed that this man was of noble blood. That conjecture didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't still afraid that he would harm her. It only made her more suspicious of him as she watched him tie the horse up by the nearest tree before he started towards her tree, seemingly right for her.

“S-Stay back! I don't know who you are,” Gwen cried out, standing up, ready to fight with her fists if he continued coming towards her, but the man continued forward, paying no heed to her objections, his massive form somewhat threatening. Gwen raised her hands out to shield herself as she ducked her head down. “I said stay back!” she cried as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact.

She expected to feel a forceful push or even a shove, but she felt nothing. Lifting her head, she looked up to find the man no longer in front of her but behind. It was as if he had just walked right through her!

“H-How did you do that?” she demanded, looking up at the rider who was now removing his hood. She could see nothing but the back of his head, which happened to be covered with blonde curls. He kept his back turned towards her, so she could not see his face and acted as though he hadn't heard her. Gwen was beginning to think that he really hadn't.

The stranger walked up to the tree and placed his hand on it, his head turning to and fro as if he were searching for something...or someone. Gwen walked the roundabout way to try and catch a glimpse of his face, but she didn't have to go far, for as she was shuffling her feet, he suddenly turned and looked right at her. Gwen found herself freezing again. Though the man's face was far more solemn than that of the man she loved, she could see the strong resemblance between them, the sharp cheekbones and the same nose. She strongly suspected that she was staring into the eyes of one of Arthur's relatives, though he appeared to be looking right through her rather than at her. She knew now that he could not see her, but she was uncertain as to how that was even possible unless she really was in a dream.

“Norena!” the man suddenly called out “Norena, are you here?”

“Yes, Con, I'm here,” a voice suddenly replied from behind them.

Gwen turned to face the one who had called out and found herself on the verge of screaming. The 'Norena' that was being addressed was the very same person that had attacked her in the castle-the very same enchantress that had haunted her dreams the previous night. The woman had the same build and the same long tresses though at this time, they were pulled back from her beautiful face. She was the same person, but then again, she wasn't, just like the field and the tree. Gwen now suspected that she had somehow been hurled into the past and that she was now looking upon a living version of the very same enchantress that was after her.

The man 'Con' as Norena had addressed him, apparently oblivious to Gwen's existence, walked right through the handmaiden to the raven-haired enchantress and took her face into his hands. “It's been too long, beloved,” he whispered before pressing his lips to the Enchantress's in a passionate kiss that Gwen averted her eyes from, feeling very much like an intruder. “I was afraid that you wouldn't come,” he then whispered.

“Nothing could keep me from you, Constantine,” Norena whispered back as she cupped her love's cheek. She looked up into his blue eyes with a sad smile on her lips. “But my sisters are growing more and more suspicious of me, my love. They fear that I am withdrawing from them.”

“Then, leave them, Norena. Come back to the castle with me, now. You'll be safe there,” Con whispered as he continued to hold her face in his hands. “Please, just come with me.”

“I cannot yet, Con, but the time for us to be together shall be soon,” Norena replied, pulling away from him. Taking his hand, she led him to the tree and sat with him beneath it. “I asked you to meet me here because there's something I need to tell you, and I need for you to listen closely, beloved.”

“Of course, Norena, anything,” Con said, as he took both of the Enchantress's hands and brought them to his chest. “What is it?”

“My sisters are planning on killing you and your father and taking over the throne," Lorena whispered quietly as she looked around as if fearing that she would be overheard. She spoke so softly that Gwen had to lean in to hear her. “They plan to do it on the night of the Summer Solstice which is in a fortnight. They plan to take over during the Summer Festival. You need to tell your father about these plans so that he may be prepared. Hopefully, he will be able to ensnare all of them so that they may not be able to hurt you.”

Con frowned. “But they are your sisters, Norena. Is there no way that you can persuade them not to come after my father and myself? My father would kill them if he caught them. Do you wish them to be killed?” he asked solemnly, looking down into her face.

“They are my coven sisters, not my blood sisters, and I only wish their end because they plot for yours, Constantine Pendragon,” Norena stated as she laid her head against the prince's shoulder. “And it will only be when they are gone that you and I will finally be able to be together openly. Was that not what you wished?”

“Yes, of course, Norena,” Con answered, but Gwen could sense a note of doubt in his tone. Norena, however, seemed deaf to it, for she only snuggled even closer to her prince, a smile on her face. “But tell me something. Do you not ever wish that you were with someone...powerful...like yourself?” the prince questioned.

Norena lifted her head and looked up at her lover. “Don't be silly, Con. I've always known that I would be with you since we were both small children and you promised me that you would always be mine under this very tree. I have never wanted to be with anyone else and I never shall because I always have you, my darling” she answered softly before a coy smile touched her lips. “Besides, who can be more powerful than the future king of Camelot with a powerful enchantress as his future queen?”

The prince smiled, but once again, Gwen who was still watching closely, noticed that there was still a look of uncertainty on the handsome man's face. “Would you feel the same if I were not a prince of Camelot?” he questioned quietly as he continued to hold Norena close.

Norena made a soft huffing sound. “What does it matter, Con? You are prince, and I love you as you are.”

There was a moment of silence as the two lovers sat under the tree, both looking out at the rain. Gwen found herself wanting to tune out of their conversation as they continued to confess their love towards one another. She averted her eyes or turned her back whenever they became affectionate, her cheeks flushed and hot. She reluctantly watched them cuddle and coo over one another, but once again she sensed that there was something amiss in the prince's voice that didn't quite sound right when he confessed his love to Norena. She began to suspect that something had changed in that single conversation.

They were only able to sit together for a few more moments before Norena suddenly sat up, her eyes looking directly at Gwen, though once again, Gwen sensed that she was being looked through rather than at. The Enchantress frowned before turning to her lover.

“My sisters are calling me, Con. I must go,” she whispered quickly as she rose to her feet. “You must go as well,” she then replied as she started for the shadows of the deeper forest.

“Yes, I shall, but I fear that we may not be able to see each other until after the Summer Solstice,” Con called out to her retreating back. “Can I not, at least, kiss you goodbye?”

“I cannot, Constantine, but I will leave you something to remember me by,” Norena called over her shoulder as she began to retreat. She turned quickly and suddenly her eyes were completely black, her lips moving as she was apparently mumbling a spell. Turning back around, she then proceeded to walk away, disappearing into the shadows as a clap of thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky.

Constantine Pendragon stood for a long moment, staring at the shadows in which Norena had disappeared only moments before, his eyes filled with a sudden sadness. Pulling his hood back up over his head, he, too, turned to leave, but he paused as he faced the tree. Gwen followed his gaze and to her surprise found that the Enchantress's symbol as well the dragon symbol were now marked upon the tree in exactly the same spot that they were supposed to be but had not been before. It had been Norena who had left them there for her father to find years to come!

The prince brushed his fingers across the newly imprinted mark as a small smile touched his lips, but it vanished almost as quickly as it had come as he once again returned to his horse and mounted. Gwen could only watch helplessly as he rode away, wondering what she was to do now that she had witnessed what she believed was the main reason why she had been brought to this specific time.

She returned to the tree once again and studied the old markings that were now fresh. Hesitating again, she slowly reached up, her eyes closing as she felt the familiar cold tingle in her chest. She figured that the symbols had brought her here, so she hoped that they would take her home.

Brushing her fingers across the engraved markings, she once again felt the powerful wind swirling around her. Despite the fact that she had faced it before, she still found herself crying out as she felt the pulling sensation wrap around her. Closing her eyes again, she waited for everything to stop, and then abruptly...it did.

When Gwen opened her eyes again, she immediately looked up at the tree, searching for her father's markings. Disappointment filled her chest as she saw that once again, they were not there, but she was somewhat relieved to see that at least the Enchantress's symbols were still there, meaning that she had gone forward in time instead of back. She hoped that since they were there, she could touch them again, and possibly return home, but she had a feeling that like the previous time, she was meant to see something more, but all that she could see at that moment was darkness. It was currently night time, and everything seemed to be asleep. Gwen could not help but think, however, that there was something lurking in the black.

Almost immediately after thinking that, Gwen heard a twig break behind her and turned around to find Norena walking from the shadows towards her. It was dark now, so Gwen couldn't quite see her face, but from the way that Norena was moving, it appeared as though the Enchantress was wounded and in pain. Her hair clung to her face, dampened with sweat as she placed her hand on the tree for support. Gwen immediately saw that the source of her weakened state was a large gash on the woman's side. Despite the fact that the woman had caused her so much pain, Gwen felt the urge to try and help her, but knew that she couldn't.

“Con?” she heard Norena call, her voice somewhat weakened. “Constantine, are you here?”

“I'm here, Norena,” Con called out and Gwen was startled at the stealthy way in which he appeared out of the shadows.

Norena walked slowly to her lover and wrapped her arms around him, her head pressed to his chest. “Th-The guards attacked me while I was trying to enter the castle. They said that they were ordered not to let me pass. One of them managed to wound me while I was trying to get past him, and I had to leave,” she said, her breaths heavy. “Why wouldn't they let me see you?”

Con slowly raised his hand to the back of Norena's head, gently stroking her long tresses. “My father ordered them there, Norena. He says that he's not willing to have an enchantress as the future queen of Camelot. He forbade me from ever seeing you again. I had to sneak out of the castle to even be able to come here and see you.”

“But I saved his life, Con! He would have died if I hadn't told him about what the other enchantress's were planning. I made myself an outsider to my own kind for helping the both of you, and now he won't even let me be with you?” Norena demanded as she pulled away to look up into her lover's face.

“He thinks that you are using me to become queen, Norena. He thinks that you just want to be with me so that you may control the people of Camelot with your magic,” Con replied, slowly backing away from her. “And when I was honest with myself...I agreed that that was a possible motive for you to want to be with me.”

Norena paused, her face filled with shock as she looked up into the face of the man she loved, only to see doubt in his eyes. She shook her head. “No, you don't understand, Con. I only betrayed my sisters because they wanted to hurt you! Don't you understand? Even with them gone, I could still have gotten anything I wanted. I was always more powerful than them, even when they were alive, but I always held back from what I could achieve because of you! I only did what I had to do to be with you!” she cried out frantically. "Why are you doubting me?"

“You could have had me whenever you wished, Norena. I would have run away from the crown and my father for you if you had only asked, but you only seemed to want me as a prince,” Con stated solemnly, bowing his head. “I doubt that you would have even looked at me if I did not wear a crown.”

Norena went to him and took his face into her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes. “That is not true, Constantine Pendragon, and you very well know that! The only reason why I never wanted you to run away with me was because you were not cut out for the life of a peasant, which we would have had to live if I had allowed you to run away from your father. Even though you said that you were willing to go through that for me, I wasn't going to let you suffer through that to be with me because I cared about you too much. You are a prince, and you are meant to be a king, not a peasant or a commoner. That's what I wanted you to be!” she cried. “I loved the man beneath that crown. Not the crown itself.”

Con suddenly began to shake his head. “I...I didn't understand. You...You didn't tell me. Why wouldn't you have just have explained that to me before?” he demanded as he looked down into Norena's eyes.

“Because I thought you trusted me enough to know that, Con. I never questioned your motives of being with me, even though having an enchantress as your queen would have made you capable of defeating all of those who dared to oppose you. You could have been using me for your own purposes as well, but I never questioned you about that because I knew that you loved me!” Norena exclaimed as tears suddenly began to course down her cheeks. “But I see now that you were questioning my love for you the whole time, and I can see in your eyes that you're afraid of something. You did something, didn't you?” she demanded, backing further away from him.

Con began to shake his head as he tried to pull her back to him. “I know now that I had no need to doubt you, but I...I...” he dropped off as he closed his eyes, unable to continue.

“What have you done, Constantine? Tell me,” Norena cried out angrily.

“You have to run, Norena,” Con replied, turning towards the clearing where the sound of horses approaching suddenly filled the previous silence. “You need to run as fast and as far as you can from here and never return to Camelot again. My father is coming for you!”

“What? Why? When is he coming?” she asked as her voice began to tremble.

“He is here already. They're all around us, now. They were using me as bait to get to you, Norena,” the prince said quickly. “You need to use your powers to break free and then you need to run!”

Norena shook her head. “You betrayed me!” she cried, pushing him firmly in the chest. “How could you-”

Before she could even finish, soldiers suddenly appeared out of the shadows and surrounded the two of them. Con pulled Norena behind him, though she tried to break free of his grasp as he unsheathed his sword and held it out to ward the soldiers off.

“Sire, the king has demanded that we arrest Norena, the Enchantress for using enchantments to plot against the crown,” one of the surrounding soldiers stated. “Please, move aside so that we may take her.”

Con shook his head as he continued to hold his sword out. “No, I won't let you take her,” he said firmly. “Any who wish to have her must go through me, first,” he then cried. He reached back for Norena's hand with his free hand, but she did not give it. The Enchantress was now glaring at the men who were surrounding her, her eyes once again black, but Gwen could see that she was greatly weakened, no doubt from the wound she had received from the guard at the castle as well as her recent betrayal by the man she loved.

A struggle ensued. What happened from there happened so fast that Gwen could barely make out who was who in the darkness. All that she could see afterwords were the two unconscious bodies that were being carried out into the field by the guards that were remaining. The guards carried both bodies towards a man who was seated on a horse in the middle of the clearing who had apparently witnessed the entire ordeal.

“Your Highness, we have the Enchantress and your son. What would you like us to do with them?” the head guard asked as he bowed before the rider.

The man, obviously Con's father, looked down upon the two unconscious figures with a look of disgust that Gwen could just make out through dim light of the torches that the guards next to him held in their hands.

“Take my son to the dungeons,” he commanded, his voice cold and hard. “He will learn that he is never to go back on my orders again and to always obey.”

“And the Enchantress, Your Majesty? Shall we take her to the dungeons as well?” the guard questioned.

“No, you will take her to the town square. We will burn her immediately before she can awaken and use her powers on my son again. She will burn, and hopefully, the evil that she contains will die with her. She was foolish to think that I would ever let her be anything to my son,” the king stated and with that, he pulled on the reigns of his horse and rode away, the guards placing the unconscious bodies on their horses before following suit. That left Gwen, once again, alone, in the dark, shaking from the shock that she had felt at what she had just witnessed. For the first time since she had first been attacked, Gwen no longer felt anger and fear for the enchantress. Instead, she felt pity.

Gwen stumbled back to the tree through the small light that was given from the moon overhead. Upon reaching the shadows of the tree, however, she felt a chill go up her spine and heard a voice that nearly sent her into a frenzy. She had hoped that she wouldn't hear that voice in this dream or vision that she was in, but it was there all the same.

'So you've seen my story, have you?' the voice whispered from behind Gwen.

Gwen turned around quickly, but she moved too quickly, for she ended up falling backwards, landing roughly on her backside, her hands barely catching her before she fell all the way and hit her head. Looking up, she found herself looking into Norena's face, though it was the Norena from her time: the dead eyes, corpse face, and waving tresses having been returned. She was no longer the beautiful woman who had a story so similar to her own. She was as cruel and evil looking as ever and Gwen found herself wanting to melt into the ground rather than face her.

“Yes, I saw everything,” she answered in a quivering voice as she looked up into Norena's eyes, though she slowly kept pushing herself backwards, attempting to put distance between them and to get closer to the tree. “I-I saw that you were in love with the crown prince, an-an-and he tried to fight for you-”

'He betrayed me, you simple girl!' Lorena cried out angrily. 'He allowed his doubts to get in the way of our love, and he eventually delivered me to his father who ended up killing me for everyone to see! He made me into an example for all of the other town to see. He wanted them to see that commoners, even ones with powers, had no right to think they were capable of being anything more!'

“I-I know that you're angry, Norena, but I-I-I still don't understand why you would want me,” Gwen cried as she continued to push herself backwards towards the tree. She was hoping that she could possibly get back to the symbols, hoping they would work in transporting her again to a different time-preferably one where Norena could not follow.

'Why do you think I would want someone like you, Guinevere?' Norena questioned as she continued to look down upon Gwen. ''It's because you were the same me. You loved a man that was not allowed to love you back. The man I loved and the man you love are the same as well, cut from the same Pendragon cloth. Both men are bound to duty because of their crown and their fathers.'

“You have no reason to exact your vengeance on me,” Gwen declared firmly, still confused by Norena's actions towards her. “You loved Constantine just as I love Arthur. Your prince betrayed you, but mine has not betrayed me.”

'True, Constantine betrayed me and I burned, but I never would have allowed him to continue hurting me, like your prince is hurting you, Guinevere. You're strong and yet you've become weak because of him. I don't despise you for wishing so much to be with him, I pity you. But I plan on exacting revenge on your behalf as well as mine, even if you don't wish it. I am going to use you, Guinevere, to do what I could not do before.'

Gwen shook her head. “I don't understand. How do you plan to use me?” she cried as she found herself only a few feet away from the oak's trunk.

She was almost back to the tree. It was just a little further away. She found herself nearly stopping however, when she felt her hand touch something hard and cold. Glancing down quickly, she found that her hand had landed on the handle of Con's sword that had most likely been dropped during the struggle with the guards. Trying to keep Norena's attention from her hand, she continued her inquiries. “What do you plan on using me for?”

'Why, to rid us of the Pendragons and their line, of course,' Norena said as a wicked laugh belted from her throat. 'In my current state, I cannot get to them, but that all will change once I am able to possess you fully. I should be able to lure in the father once I am able to destroy his precious Arthur. Don't worry, though, Guinevere, I shall make your love's death quick and painless.'

Gwen shook her head at Norena's confirmation. “No, you can't hurt him,” she cried out, gripping the sword handle even tighter.

'Don't be pathetic, Guinevere. He never would have allowed you to be his queen. He will marry a noble woman that his father approves of just like Constantine. Then, he will have a son that will be just like all the other Pendragons: vile, cruel, and unjust.'

Gwen's teeth ground as she glared up at Norena. She had had enough!

“I would never let you use me to hurt Arthur!” she cried as she quickly got to her feet, the sword still in her hand. She held it in front of her, pointing the point right at Norena. “I love Arthur Pendragon. He is a good man, different from his father. He is going to be a great and just ruler, and I want him to be that even if I am unable to be the queen at his side!” she then cried, though the mark at her breast tingled at those last words.

Norena began to laugh again, her laughter cruel and unkind. 'You really are a pathetic girl, Guinevere. It is precisely for that behavior that the prince will never love you the way you want him to. You're not willing to fight for what you want,' she taunted.

Gritting her teeth, Gwen stepped forward and swung the sword with all of her might at Norena, but the Enchantress was gone before the sword could even touch her. Gwen continued to keep swinging at her as fast as she could, but the Enchantress always vanished at Gwen's swings before reappearing again just out of Gwen's reach. At one point however, she reappeared right behind Gwen, and placed her hand on Gwen's shoulder, sending a burst of flaming pain through Gwen's entire body.

Nearly dropping the sword, Gwen collapsed onto the ground as Norena let go of her. The Enchantress continued to hover behind Gwen, laughing, her cold laughter filling the silent night air tauntingly. She was basking in the glory of defeating the handmaiden and what that victory would entitle her to be able to do.

Still down, Gwen bowed her head as she tried to regain the energy that had seemingly been sucked right out of her. She heard Norena's laughter, right behind her ear, the cackle acting like a silent hand that was keeping her down. The handmaiden felt like her body was begging her to give up, but as Gwen closed her eyes to succumb, she could see Arthur's face, his blue eyes looking right into hers, pleading for her to keep fighting.

'Oh, give up, Guinevere. There's no way you can defeat me. You will be mine, whether you fight or not. You are my last chance, and I will not give that up,' Norena whispered into her ear from behind, sending another shiver up Gwen's spine at the closeness that the Enchantress now had to her. 'Save your fury for someone else. Your anger is nothing compared to mine.'

“No...” Gwen muttered, her breath still ragged, “but my love is stronger than yours, Norena, and I won't let you take that away from me!”

Turning around swiftly, Gwen swung the sword again with all the energy she had left in her body, catching Norena off guard. The sword entered into Norena's shadowy torso, and to Gwen's amazement, it stayed there. Whatever Norena was, in this particular form, she was susceptible to the weapon's power on her, for she began to scream and writhe, clawing at the blade that seemed to be stuck in her.

Gwen took the opportunity she was given to immediately run back to the tree, her eyes set on the symbols. When she reached them, she dared to look back over her shoulder to find that Norena was no longer there. She had vanished. Looking around, Gwen expected her to pop out of the shadows or trees or just grab her from behind, but there was nothing but silence and the wind blowing through the grass and trees. She was completely alone.

Turning her attention back to the markings, Gwen reached out and brushed her fingers across them. At first, when she felt nothing, she feared that the symbols were not going to work, but quite suddenly, she felt the hook pulling her forward and then felt the cold wind on her face. Closing her eyes, she did not cry out this time as she felt herself being swept away. She only felt relief and hope that she would be taken home. She wanted to get as far away from his place as she could and to place distance between herself and the demon ghost that Norena had allowed herself to become.

Merlin and Gaius were both pacing the floor of Gaius's study, trying their best to avoid each other's eyes as they both glanced out the window to see only a glimmer of light over the western horizon. Arthur had left nearly an hour before though he had done so grudgingly and only at Sir Leon's insistence that he was needed by his father for the preparations of the feast. Before leaving, he had bade Merlin to remain with Gaius to keep a vigil for Gwen should she return to them. His face had been contorted with worry, his eyes worn, especially after all of the interrogating and searching they had done earlier that day for the handmaiden. There was still hope, however, in that sea of blue even if it appeared as though she had disappeared from the face of the earth.

“You don't think that she...” Merlin finally spoke after a long moment of silence, though he was unable to finish his inquiry, the question being too much.

Gaius, understanding what Merlin was asking, stopped and frowned. “I don't know, Merlin. Usually when the Enchantresses hurt anyone, those they hurt didn't disappear, there were actual...bodies...found.”

Merlin swallowed heavily with his fists clenched at his side as an image of a corpse with bouncy curls and sightless brown eyes suddenly popped into his head. He quickly forced it out, however, and forced himself to replace the picture with a smiling, laughing Gwen.

“She's not dead!” he suddenly cried out, shocking Gaius and himself as well at his outcry. “She's alive...I know she is. I can feel it,” he then said, his voice filled with hope and determination. “I know she'll come back, or we're going to find her.”

Gaius said nothing as he turned and once again began his pacing, his eyes gazing out the window every now and then as the sky only appeared to grow darker and darker. Merlin returned to his track as well, though he kept his eyes averted more to the ground rather than looking at out. Seeing night coming in, only dashed his hopes more and more of her being safe.

Both men were so wrapped up in their thoughts that they failed the notice the light rap on the door the first time it sounded. It was only when it returned, this time somewhat louder and firmer that Merlin found himself jumping at the sudden noise before he quickly walked towards the door, thinking that it was someone with news. He only hoped that it was the good kind of her being found alive and well and not...the other kind.

Taking a deep breath, Merlin took the handle of he door in his hand and slowly opened it. He didn't even have the opportunity to really see who it was before he felt arms wrap around his neck and felt a body pressed against his as he was being embraced tightly. It wasn't until he heard his gentle attacker speak that he realized that the person embracing him was Gwen.

“Oh, Merlin! You don't know how happy I am to see you!” Gwen cried as she continued to squeeze him, a joyful laugh escaping her lips. “I seriously thought I wouldn't ever see you again.”

Reluctantly pulling away, Merlin grinned as he looked down into Gwen's face. “I'm so glad that you're okay!” he cried out cheerfully, but he then grew sullen as he took in her somewhat ruffled and muddy appearance. “You had all of us scared to death, especially when we all came here for you and found that you weren't here when you said that you were coming here,” he said in stern voice. “Where were you?”

“I'll tell you, I promise,” Gwen said, her smile still engraved on her face, “but first, I want to see Gaius.”

After sharing a similar reunion with the court physician, which consisted of more hugs and pecks to the cheeks, Gaius led Gwen the long table and let her settle down while he and Merlin sat down across from her, waiting for an explanation. Gwen was all too willing to give it, explaining all of the events that had occurred to her from the time she left Merlin, to the discovery that the symbol on the tree was Norena's, to the events that she witnessed between Norena and Constantine, and finally, her final confrontation with the Enchantress's ghost. She explained to them why Norena had targeted her, blushing at the knowing expression on Gaius's face when she revealed that she was in love with Arthur. She then took her turn to sit back while Gaius and Merlin, in turn, revealed all that they had learned from their 'source' and together, they filled in all of the holes that they had had earlier regarding Gwen's attacks. Merlin then also revealed how he had told the prince of her predicament despite her pleas and Arthur's reaction to her going missing and how he had nearly tackled everyone in the city for news of her, to which Gwen listened silently with her cheeks flaming while Merlin and Gaius purposely looked away. Afterwords, they sat together soaking in all of the information and what all of it could mean.

“So she was just gone after you stabbed her?” Merlin finally asked Gwen, regarding the last she had seen of Norena.

Gwen nodded. “Yes, she was. I expected her to come out from somewhere...anywhere... after I noticed she was gone, but she didn't. And when I was coming back to the city, I had to walk through the darkness and she didn't come out then, either,” she said calmly. “I admit that I thought that she would, but she didn't.”

“Then, maybe she's really gone,” Merlin suggested, his face becoming somewhat brightened at the prospect. “Maybe, you're really safe now, Gwen.”

“I hope so,” she said with a sigh. “I don't think I could make it through another encounter.” She then looked to Gaius with another smile. “I did notice one thing when I reached the city, and that is that the mark she left on me last night is beginning to fade. Maybe Merlin's right, and she's gone.”

Gaius reached out and covered Gwen's dark hand with his. “Well, regardless of whether she is or not, I have a strong suspicion that Norena was only able to attack you now because of how close it was to this night, a time where the dead have the most power to return to the mortal realm. I believe that after this night, she will no longer have the ability to attack or attempt to harm you, Gwen. You have fought her admirably, my dear. It's very possible that she realized that you were a stronger adversary than she expected to face.”

Gwen grinned at the physician as she nodded her head with tears of gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you, Gaius,” she whispered.

“So what should we do then?” Merlin questioned. “We need to keep you safe for one more night. I think that the more people you're around, the better.”

“Maybe we can attend the feast, then,” Gwen suggested, nonchalantly, though a blush was beginning to creep onto her dusky cheeks. “I had wanted to see Arthur, especially after...everything that happened,” she added, averting her gaze to the table to avoid the looks that were being shot her way by Merlin and Gaius.

“There will be lots of people at the feast, so it would be a generally safe place,” Merlin commented as he grinned at Gwen. “I could escort you there.”

Gaius rolled his eyes at the young man's eagerness but smiled as he looked at Gwen. “I agree that it would be a safe place for you for the time being, and I'm sure his Highness would be exceptionally glad to see that you are all right as well. I think it best that we all go.”

Rising slowly from the chair, Gwen beamed at her two companions. “Let's go, then,” she said excitedly.

Merlin frowned with one of his eyebrows raised as he looked up at her tattered and muddied appearance. “Um...maybe we should get you changed, first...”

Gaius and Merlin accompanied Gwen back to her home after they left Gaius's study to allow Gwen to clean up and change her dress for the feast. Gwen was excited as she walked in between the two of her close friends towards her home. She was going to see Arthur, and after everything she had went through for his sake, she wanted to be able to tell him just how much she truly cared about him even if it could lead to nothing. After nearly dying a number of times by Norena's hand and learning from Norena's mistake of not explaining herself to the man she loved, Gwen knew that at the least, she needed Arthur to know that she loved him, which she fully intended to do at the feast. She was worried about the feast, however, because she really didn't know what to wear considering that her best dresses had been destroyed by Norena.

While she was cleaning up in the back of her home, Merlin left it upon himself to see if he could find her something suitable to wear while Gaius waited patiently at the table, rolling his eyes at Merlin's open willingness to go through Gwen's meager clothing. The young wizard appeared shortly, grinning from ear to ear as he held out what he had found proudly to Gaius. It was a certain red and purple dress in the back of Gwen's closet that he knew he had never seen her wear before. It was simple but extremely beautiful, which he thought suited the young handmaiden well, and he said as much when he presented his choice to her. Despite the fact that Gwen wanted to protest, considering that she had never allowed herself to even look at that dress, let alone wear it, she ended up relenting to Merlin's doe eyes and his arguments stating how perfect it was for her. Gwen had to admit that it did feel nice when she slipped it on, feeling like it fit her perfectly. Her father really did know her well, and she knew he would have loved it on her if he had been there to see it.

The Calan Gaeaf Feast took place within the Main Hall of the castle with all of the nobles that came to attend, but commoners were allowed to come as well, though they were generally confined to the castle courtyard where a separate celebration took place. Gwen, Merlin, and Gaius would have generally been confined to the courtyard celebrations as well, but considering their status as servants to the royal family, they were allowed access to castle. Gaius decided stayed behind in the commoner festivities, however, while Merlin and Gwen continued on to the main hall.

As the two servants passed into the castle doors, the eyes of the soldiers at the guard followed them closely, their eyes focused on that of the handmaiden. Many of the men in the hall reacted the same way upon seeing Gwen, most of them whispering to one another asking each other who she was, though no one knew. They all marveled at the way the candlelight highlighted her brown curls that she actually wore down, though she still wore flowers in her hair. The colors of her dress also commented her skin tone and the rosy hue in her cheeks. She truly was a sight to see, and many of the nobles were taking advantage of that, though there were a pair of eyes that had also noticed her that belonged to someone who wasn't interested in just staring at her.

When Gwen actually noticed that she was being gawked at by a good number of men, she found herself thinking that it was because something was wrong with her. Lacing her arm through Merlin's, she lifted her head and whispered into his ear.

“Why is everyone staring at us? Is there a bug in my hair? Or is there something wrong with my gown? I knew there was a reason why I shouldn't wear it and it was because my dad gave it to me right before he died, and what girl in their right mind would wear something that their dad had given them to-”

“Gwen,” Merlin said gently, cutting in on her nervous babbling, “There's nothing wrong with you or your gown or your hair. They're staring because they think you're pretty, and they very well should because you look great, tonight.”

Blushing deeply, Gwen smiled up at her friend, but she continued to try and duck her head down behind his shoulders, uncomfortable with the attention that she was getting. She was used to being ignored by these people, a fixture in the back of the room that they passed by without a second glance. She still suspected that they were looking upon her with frowns and glares. Realizing that they were all smiling at her openly, however, she slowly found herself straightening up and even nodding or smiling back at them, though she continued to keep her arm wrapped around Merlin's. She wasn't that accustomed to this setting to actually let him go just yet.

As they reached the center of the hall, their progression stopped seeing as the room seemed to be jammed packed with nobles. Gwen continued to stand by Merlin's side as he looked over the people's heads searching for a way through. While she was waiting, however, she suddenly felt a hand grab a hold of her free arm, pulling her forcefully away from Merlin's side. Crying out, Gwen tried to reach out for Merlin, but the hand pulling her away pulled firmly once again and she found herself losing Merlin in the crowd. She doubted that Merlin would even realize that she had gone, considering how he had been so focused on finding a way through.

With Merlin out of sight and reach in the crowd behind her, Gwen finally turned her attention to her captor. She nearly let out a startled cry as she realized that it was none other than Arthur Pendragon, himself, though she could only see the back of his head considering that he was too busy finding a way through to look back at her. It was somewhat astonishing how he managed to push his way through with none of the people really being any the wiser that he, the prince of Camelot, was holding the hand of a servant. The crowd was too tightly packed in with everybody pushing someone one way or another to really notice whom they were being pushed by. Gwen found herself somewhat pleased that she had Arthur's firm hand grasping hers, keeping her from getting lost, but she was also somewhat curious as to what Arthur was doing, dragging her out of the hall.

They exited the hall at one of the side entrances that led out onto the balcony. Arthur forcefully closed the door they had just escaped through behind them so as not to allow anyone else to follow them. Once closed, he then led her towards the parapet, his hand still firmly grasping hers. Gwen was barely able to take in a deep breath of the cool night air when they finally stopped before she suddenly felt the prince wrap his arms firmly around her, pulling her close to him and holding her tight. Too startled by his sudden embrace, Gwen couldn't even speak let alone hug him back. She found herself staring at the door that Arthur had shut behind them, afraid that any moment, someone would come out and find them. It wasn't until she heard him sigh and felt him pull away that she actually looked up into his face.

He brought his hands up to her face and cupped both of her cheeks, brushing his thumbs along her jawline. “Guinevere,” he exhaled, her name spoken with relief and also a tinge of regret. “I know that you heard me say something terrible earlier when I was talking to Morgana. I want you to know that I didn't mean it. I never regretted the day I met you or even how I came to care about you as more than just a friend,” he said, his face filled with such regret and pleading as he continued to hold her face in his hands. “The things my father told me about the kingdom and my duties to it were meant to make me feel ashamed for caring for you the way that I do, but they didn't work. You are a far better woman than any of those noble women in that room. You are strong, kind, caring, and love with such a passion, that I find myself lucky to be able to even call you my friend. I...I was utter fool for letting my fears of my father and the dungeon get to me. I was an idiot and a buffoon and-”

Gwen pressed her fingers to Arthur's lips, silencing him as she felt tears suddenly begin to course down her dark cheeks. “Don't you dare say another word, Arthur Pendragon,” she whispered through the lump that had grown in her throat at the words he had spoken to her. “I don't need for you to apologize for something that I knew you didn't really mean when uttered those words, and I don't think I can bear to hear another word from you, slandering the name of a man I respect and care for so deeply,” she whispered, as a smile still managed to cross her face.

Reaching up, Arthur's rough-skinned but surprisingly gentle fingers wiped away the wet track's from Gwen's face. Leaning in, he then kissed away the fresh tears that had begun to fall from her eyes before once again pulling her close to him to press his lips to her brow. He squeezed her to him tightly and Gwen squeezed back this time just as hard as she buried her face into his warm chest, closing her eyes at the pleasant feel of his warmth around her.

“I thought that you had left when I found that you were gone. I thought that I had pushed you away and lost you for good or that something terrible had happened,” Arthur murmured against her hair. “I was frightened, Guinevere, and there has only been one other time where I have been that afraid before, and that was when Hengist had taken you and I feared that I wouldn't reach you before he hurt you.”

Smiling into Arthur's chest, Gwen let out a small giggle. “You were really afraid...for me?” she questioned, lifting her head to look back into his eyes.

“Of course I was,” Arthur said as a smile began to touch his lips as well. “A man has the right to be afraid when he comes close to losing one of his prized possessions,” he then said arrogantly.

Gwen frowned. “I am not your possession, Arthur,” she said sternly, though she still allowed him to pull her to him.

“I'm not saying that you are, Guinevere, but you do have something of mine that I would not be very happy to lose,” he replied somewhat meekly.

Gwen furrowed her brow with confusion. “I have no knowledge of possessing anything of value to you, Arthur,” she said quietly though she tried to think back to the time he had stayed with her to try and think of anything he may have left behind. He had left behind the mattress that Merlin had brought, but she did not think it very valuable, nor did she think he would care so much about such a simple thing when the castle was full of them. “Are you certain that I possess this item of yours?”

“I haven't been more sure of anything in my life. I gave it to you a while back” he whispered with his lips still brushing against her dark skin as he spoke, but he then looked down at her with a frown, though she could tell that he was on the verge of laughing. “Guinevere, are you saying that you've lost it already?”

Gwen shook her head. “You have not given me anything, Arthur! I would have taken very good care of anything that you should have given me before,” she said as she looked down at the ground, concentrating on going through every memory that she had with Arthur to find one where he had given her anything.

Arthur chuckled out loud this time, his laughter echoing into the empty night air. “Well, I suppose that you did not care for it if you didn't even know that you had it,” he said teasingly. “Maybe I gave my prized possession to the wrong person,” he then said, giving her a mock frown.

“But I don't remember you giving me anything, Arthur. I'm not one to lose precious things, and if you would have given me anything, I would have considered it very precious to me!” Gwen exclaimed, flustered by the fact that she still did not know what he was talking about and the fact that she knew that he was now teasing her. “And I would appreciate if you would stop teasing me!” she then cried, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest.

Sighing, Arthur reached out and took her hand in his, raising it to his lips to kiss her knuckles as a soothing gesture. He then took it and lowered it to his chest, pressing it against his breast so that she could feel his heart beating through the cloth of his tunic. “Do you feel that beating?” he asked her softly.

Still flustered Gwen rolled her eyes. “Of course I can!” she answered shortly. “It's your heart.”

“Yes, it's my heart,” Arthur confirmed, “but then again, it's not really my heart in there that you're feeling.”

Thinking that he was still teasing her, Gwen frowned. “Then what is it?” she demanded.

“It's the ghost of what my heart used to be. My real heart is long gone,” he said quietly, looking down at her hand.

“And where would it be then, Arthur?” Gwen questioned doubtfully.

“I gave it to you a long time ago, Guinevere,” Arthur said seriously, clasping both of his hands over her hand that was still pressed to his chest. “It has been with you the entire time.”

Looking up into his face, all of Gwen's frustration suddenly disappeared, replaced by a strong swelling in her heart that she knew was her love for him. Before she could stop them, tears suddenly began to course down her dark face again. “You're horrible, Arthur Pendragon!” she cried out as she gently slapped his arm, thinking the completely opposite of what she had just said as she did it. She proved as much when she go up on her tip-toes to press a kiss to his cheek.

Arthur feigned being hurt as he rubbed the spot where she had slapped him. “Is this what I get for confiding in you?” he teased. “Maybe I really was wrong when I gave you my heart,” he then said, furrowing his brow. He, too, proved he was lying however, when he once again pulled her back to him so that he could wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I wasn't teasing you, I was was merely telling you thetruth, and I reckoned its about time you knew it.”

Reaching up, Gwen placed her hand on Arthur's cheek as he brought his head down and pressed his brow to hers. Closing her eyes, the handmaiden etched every detail of this memory into her head for future references, making sure to record the way butterflies filled her stomach and the way her heart was pounding in her chest as if yearning to break out and touch him, but as she was doing so, she came to a sudden realization that Arthur had basically declared his love for her, but she had not declared hers yet which had been her plan from the beginning.

She opened her eyes to find that Arthur's eyes were still closed. Pulling her brow away from his, she lifted her face up and pressed her lips to the side of Arthur's mouth, which caused the prince to finally open his eyes. He grinned down at her as he took both of her hands in his and brought them up between them.

“Before we go back inside, Arthur, I should tell you that I have always cared for you a great deal. I'm proud to call you my friend as well as my-”

“My lord, are you out here?” a voice suddenly called from the door leading into the Hall.

Gwen immediately pulled away from Arthur at the sound of the stranger as a blush crept upon her cheeks. Arthur grinned at her embarrassment before grabbing her hand quickly and placing a kiss on her knuckles. Releasing it, he then turned towards the one who was intruding on their little moment. “I'm here,” he called out, stepping out of the shadows to reveal himself.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the voice replied, and Gwen immediately realized that the voice belonged to Sir Leon. “Your father sent me to look for you, my lord. He wishes to make an announcement, and he wishes for you to be there.”

“Thank you. I will be in shortly,” Arthur replied, blocking Gwen from Sir Leon's view. “Be sure to relay the message.”

Sir Leon nodded and disappeared into the castle while Arthur returned back to Gwen. He took her hands back into his, pulling her to him to press kisses on both of her eyelids.

“Arthur, your father is most likely waiting for you,” Gwen said softly as she opened her eyes and looked up into his face. “Do you know what he's announcing?”

Arthur shrugged. “I've already told him that I refuse to marry Amelia or anyone else he wishes to join me with. I don't have the faintest idea, but I highly doubt that it's anything pertaining to me.”

“Then go and find out what it is,” Gwen said with a large smile on her lips as she reached up on her tip-toes to press another kiss to his cheek, though he tried to turn his face to get one on the lips. “I shall be waiting here for you afterwords, and maybe you will get a proper kiss then,” she said, gently trying to push him on his way.

“I expect you to keep your word,” Arthur called to her as he started to back away from her to return to the hall. He still clutched her hands in his, however, as if he didn't want to lose them. He reluctantly let go when she gently pulled them out of his grasp with a huff at his playfulness. He grinned back at her before turning around and sliding into the door. Before closing it behind him, however, he stopped and admired his love's figure against the full moon's light, and realized just how beautiful she looked in the dress, and how he had forgotten to tell her so. He had not seen the dress before, but he hoped that she would wear it more often. He tried to remind himself to tell her these thoughts when he returned to her.”

“Have you seen Gwen?” Merlin asked as he saw Arthur approach him on his way to the front table. The young wizard had been horrified to find his friend gone from his side. He had looked down to tell her that he had seen a clear path for them to take to Morgana only to find that Gwen was not there. He had only been even more horrified when he found just how difficult it was for him to move, let alone search for her through the crowd.

Arthur had a large smile on his face as he brushed by Merlin to get to his father's table. “She's fine, no thanks to you,” he called to his servant over his shoulder. “Do you realize how easy it was to take her away from you? You are truly a pathetic guard, Merlin.”

Merlin frowned despite the relief he felt in his chest at the news of Gwen being safe. “Where is she? Is she here? Is she safe?” he asked the prince.

“She's most likely safer alone than she is with you, Merlin, but she's out on the balcony if you must know,” Arthur replied as he looked at the young man over his shoulder. “I suppose you should go out there and keep her company while I'm with my father.”

Turning his back to Arthur, Merlin rolled his eyes at the prince's sarcasm though he found himself soon groaning as he realized how the doors for the balcony were on the opposite side of the room, on the other side of the crowd. He had the urge to use magic to part the crowd like the red sea, but that obviously wasn't going to be looked upon favorably with these people. Groaning once more, he pushed his way past one of the men on the edge while thinking: one down, fifty more to go.

Merlin managed to make his way halfway through the sea of people when he heard Uther begin to pound on the table, calling for everyone's attention. Almost immediately, the room grew silent, as all pointed their gazes to the king at the front table with Arthur standing at his left and Morgana at Arthur's left. There was another man sitting in the honored seat at Uther's right though Merlin didn't know who the man was, though he wasn't paying too close attention to the stranger. His attention was still fixated on the door that led to the balcony though he did notice how the door had opened a crack at the sound of Uther's call to order. Merlin swore that he saw Gwen's head peek through from the outside.

“Welcome all!” Uther's voice boomed throughout the room. “Tonight, we celebrate the end of the summer seasons and to celebrate in the great harvest before the winter begins. I would like to make a special declaration of gratitude at this time however, for King Theodric of Bernicia, who has come all this way to begin talks of a possible union between our kingdoms,” he stated, as he held his glass to the unknown man on his right side. “We can only hope that such talks will be favorable to both of our kingdoms.”

Merlin froze as he heard that particular statement as he looked up at the front table to where Arthur stood. Though Uther was still talking to his people, Merlin didn't hear a word that he said and he was beginning to assume that Arthur was not either as he was seemingly glaring down at the table in front of him, his jaw clenched from the anger that he was feeling at his father's announcement. Though Uther had not come right out and said that he was marrying Arthur off to the Princess of Bernicia, everyone knew what the term 'union' meant for their future king of Camelot. Morgana had been right when she had said that Uther was very much capable of forcing Arthur into the union despite Arthur's feelings about a certain handmaiden.

Thinking of the handmaiden, Merlin looked back up at the balcony door, searching for Gwen, but he saw that the door had once again been closed completely. Knowing that she would have been as broken as Arthur at such an announcement, Merlin gathered his strength to push more people aside, caring not that they were of a position far higher than his as he shoved past them, ignoring their outraged cries. He knew that he needed to get to her, if not to check on her welfare then to just comfort her. He knew that this particular blow was something that she definitely had not deserved nor expected, especially if Arthur's grin was any indicator of the kind of 'interaction' they had shared before.

Right before he exited the door, Merlin looked back to where Arthur stood and this surprise, find the prince staring right back at him. Find her, his eyes told Merlin. She'll need you.

Merlin nodded to him to tell him that he understood before slipping out the door and walking out onto the balcony and into the cool night air. It was dark, even with the light of the full moon shining down on them. Merlin couldn't see Gwen, aft first, as he walked further out, but then he heard a stifled sob near the parapet and turning towards the noise, he soon found her. She was crumpled into a ball on the ground, grabbing at her chest with her back trembling from the sobs that escaped her lips.

“Gwen,” Merlin whispered as he ran to her and knelt down beside her. “Gwen, are you all right?” he asked worriedly as he looked down at the hand at her chest. Though it was still difficult to see things clearly, he could vaguely make out the mark in the light of the moon. Compared to what it was before they had come here, he noticed that it had actually darkened.

“He...He told me that he had rejected his father's order to marry Amelia,” Gwen whispered as tears coursed down her cheeks. “He lied to me, Merlin!”

“No, Gwen, I don't think he knew what his father was going to do. If you had just seen his face after Uther made that declaration, you would have understood how upset he was. He'll still fight, Gwen, and he most likely will for you,” Merlin whispered as he wrapped his arms around her to help her up. “You shouldn't give up on him.”

Gwen looked up at Merlin with tear-filled eyes before glancing at one of the windows where loud cries of applause sounded at the end of Uther's speech. “Maybe Norena was right,” she whispered, her voice filled with such hopelessness and emptiness that Merlin felt as though his heart was breaking at the sound. “Maybe now I wish that I had never met him, either.”

Merlin shook his head. “No, no, don't say that, Gwen. You care about Arthur and he cares about you. He'll fight for you, I know he will. You just have to have faith in him,” he said firmly, lifting her face up to look at him. “If you give up on him, Gwen, I don't think he'll make it. He needs you just as much as you need him.”

“But it hurts too much, Merlin,” Gwen cried out weakly as she grasped at the mark again. “Every time I feel like we're getting somewhere, something like this always happens. Love isn't suppose to hurt this much, is it?”

“Sometimes it does, but that just makes it all the more sweeter when the fighting is over,” Merlin whispered. “You and Arthur have already defied the odds by falling for each other in the first place. If you can just keep going enough to where you can be together, it will all be worth it. I promise!”

Gwen did not say anything in response as she continued to clutch at her heart with both of her hands, her breathing ragged and labored. Her tear-filled eyes stared at the ground as she continued to hunch over, making her look even more defeated and broken. She looked positively awful compared to the bright-eyed beauty that he had escorted into the hall earlier that evening. She had fallen farther than she had ever fallen before, and Merlin feared that she may not be able to make the climb up again.

“I...I think we should go see Gaius. He should be able to help you with the pain,” Merlin said gently as he tightened his arm around her and used his other hand to place it under her elbow to help him lift her to her feet. “You're going to be all right, Gwen. I know you will be.”

Gwen was surprisingly able to rise to her feet with his aid, though she said nothing nor even looked at him as he started to lead her back towards the doors. Her body was still trembling against his, but she was walking still, which he considered somewhat of a victory. She hadn't completely given up on herself. There was hope still.

A few meters from the door, Gwen suddenly stopped. Merlin looked down at her with concern, thinking that she was just reluctant to be in the same room with Arthur, but when he saw the way her eyes were wide with fear, he grew deeply concerned. She was trembling even more, almost to the point that she was shaking. She was gasping as she turned around, her back now facing the door as she gazed out at the balcony.

“What's the matter, Gwen?” Merlin asked as he placed both hands on her arms to try and turn her back towards him. “C'mon, Gwen, let's go,” he then said as he tried to urge her more, using a little more force, but the handmaiden wouldn't budge. She was like a stone statue as she continued to stare into the darkness.

“Merlin,” she suddenly cried, her voice trembling as she continued to stare out past the parapet. “Merlin, She's here.”

Merlin's eyes widened as he followed her gaze, knowing who 'she' was. He could sense another presence there, and he knew that it was Norena, though he couldn't see her. He kicked himself for allowing Gwen to be in this position. They were alone, and it was dark, the perfect atmosphere for an attack. He never should have allowed her to leave his side to begin with. All of the mistakes from before suddenly flashed before his eyes.

“Gwen, we need to run to the door and get inside,” he said quietly, his voice barely a whisper. “When I say run...you turn and run as fast as you can. Okay?” he then whispered as he reached out his hand for her to grasp.

Gwen only nodded as she reached out and firmly clutched his hand in both of hers. She managed to tear her eyes away from the darkness to look up at Merlin's face, her eyes now dry but filled with fear.

“Run!” Merlin suddenly cried, pulling her with him as he made a mad dash for the door. He could hear Gwen's fast breathing as she stayed close behind him, their feet both carrying them as fast as they could towards the wooden doorway that would lead them to the light. It was right within their reach, but Merlin's senses were telling him that they were being closely pursued.

Merlin's hand pounded into the door as he pressed his body against it, Gwen doing the same as she came up beside him on his left side. Merlin let go of her hand momentarily to grab a hold of the handle to open the door wide, which forced Gwen to step back, but light soon leaked out of the open doorway and seeped out onto the balcony, revealing its emptiness to both of them. Norena was gone, but Merlin swore that he could still sense her presence in the shadows.

They were both breathing heavily as they stayed in the light, both hunching over themselves with their backs to the Hall as they tried to catch their breaths. Merlin grinned triumphantly at Gwen as he lifted his head to look up at her, and she smiled back at him as well, though her smile was shaky and small.

“Thank you,” Gwen said to him. “I'm glad you're on my si-”

A firm hand suddenly wrapped around her arm from behind, forcing a startled cry from her lips. Merlin's eyes widened as he turned, ready to unleash a spell on whomever was holding her, but when he turned he found himself facing Arthur, though the prince did not acknowledge him as he kept his eyes locked on Gwen.

“I need to talk to you,” he said quietly to her, pushing past Merlin for the second time that night as he moved to lead Gwen back out onto the balcony. Merlin watched in horror, trying to call out to Arthur not to take her out there as he saw Gwen's eyes-filled with terror-looking at him over Arthur's shoulder. Merlin moved to stop Arthur from what he was moving to do next, which was shut the door. Before he could get there however, Arthur had pushed the door shut with his free hand and had once again started to take Gwen further out onto the balcony.

“No, Arthur, get her back into the light!” Merlin cried as he moved to take Gwen's other hand to take her back to the doorway, the presence in the darkness suddenly growing stronger to him. “She needs to get back into the light! She's not safe here!”

“Get off of her, Merlin, I need to speak with her!” Arthur commanded irritably as he pulled Gwen's hand out of Merlin's grasp. “Stop being such an idiot!” he shouted.

“Arthur, Merlin's right. Norena is here. She's out here, and she's coming for me!” Gwen cried, fighting to free her hand from Arthur's. “Please...let me go. We all need to get back to the hall!”

“What in the bloody hell is going on? What's the matter with you two?” Arthur demanded, his voice filled with confusion and anger as he looked at Merlin trying to grab Gwen's hand while Gwen fought to release her other hand from Arthur's clutches. “I just want to talk...” he said through gritted teeth as he managed to hold onto Gwen's hand even tighter.

“Let go of her, you bloody ass!” Merlin cried out angrily. “You're going to get her killed!”

Gwen was still struggling to free herself from Arthur when she suddenly felt something cold wrap around her waist in a painful grip. Thinking that it was Arthur trying to take her away from Merlin, Gwen prepared herself to scream at him to unhand her, but when she looked at Arthur, she saw that both of his arms were occupied: one of them attached the the hand that he was grasping hers with and the other one attached the hand that was reaching for his sword that he was most likely ready to unsheathe to beat Merlin with as he continued to argue with him. She turned to Merlin to try and tell him to let go, but she saw that his arms were also occupied: one of them attached to the hand that was pulling on hers to free her from Arthur and the other reaching out for the door to pull it open to let the light back out to them.

Feeling the fear beginning to swirl around in her stomach, Gwen forced herself to look down at the restraint around her waist in the moonlight. She would have screamed at what she saw, but the hold around her was too tight that she barely had enough air to breathe. There was a shadowy tentacle wrapped around her waist and another snaking around her skirt, pulling it close around her knees as it bound her legs together. A third was snaking around her chest, right beneath her arms that were still being pulled by the two men that were completely oblivious of the danger that she was in.

Before Gwen could show or even tell the two bickering men about her dilemma, she felt another tentacle suddenly wrap around her shoulders. In a split second all of the tentacles tightened around her and pulled her forcefully backwards right towards the parapet and the long fall on the other side of it. She actually managed to scream, but it was cut off quite abruptly by another shadowy tentacle that wrapped itself around her mouth. She was helpless as she felt herself being pulled towards the balcony edge until her feet hit the top of the parapet and she felt herself go over, at which time she closed her eyes. She expected to feel the wind rushing past her as she fell towards the courtyard below where the celebration would most likely be drawn to an immediate close with her death against the cold pavement below. She waited and waited but felt nothing. Opening her eyes, she found herself hovering over the people far below who were oblivious to her presence above them, her feet touching nothing but air as the tentacles continued to hold her.

Looking back at the balcony, Gwen saw Arthur and Merlin leaning against the edge, Arthur looking like he was ready to jump right over it to try and get to her while Merlin was...Merlin was mumbling something under his breath as he held his hand out. She swore that his eyes glowed golden in the moonlight, though she told herself that it was just her imagination, but just as she thought that, she felt the tentacles loosen a fraction and felt herself beginning to slip.

'Don't try anything, boy, or she'll fall and you'll kill her,' Gwen heard Norena's voice whisper from behind, right next to her ear.

“Let her go, witch!” Arthur called out through gritted teeth as he unsheathed his sword. “If you let her go, I'll let your death be quick and swift. Harm a hair on her head, and I'll make you wish that your soul had gone to hell when you died the first time.”

'Oh, I'm no witch, little princeling,' Norena said as she let out a cackle right next to Gwen's ear that scoured Gwen's flesh with goose bumps. 'But you'll wish I was one when I get through with you and your kingdom. For now, however, I'll settle on my current prize...your beloved handmaiden.'

Gwen watched her love's eyes suddenly look upon her and she saw the fear within them. That look alone hurt her more than anything than she had ever felt before. All of the misery she had experienced the past few months and the pain she had experienced from Norena was nothing compared to the sorrow she felt at seeing the look of horror in Arthur's eyes. Gwen wanted to reach out and touch him, comfort him , and tell him that it was all right, but she was gagged and restrained so that she could only watch as the man she loved suffered at the helplessness he was forced to face. All of the pity and sympathy that Gwen had felt for Norena before suddenly vanished in that instant and was immediately replaced by a deep hatred.

As if sensing Gwen's thoughts, Norena again laughed out loud. 'Don't worry, Guinevere, his suffering will end soon enough. Come along, now.'

Gwen found the restraints squeezing her so tight now that she couldn't breathe and there was no way she could break free. The cold was surrounding her rapidly and closing her eyes, she felt her consciousness beginning to leave. Before she faded completely, however, she opened her eyes one last time to meet Arthur's. With that final look, she tried to convey to Arthur what she could not convey before: her love, but at the look of sorrow in his eyes, she knew that she had failed. She felt herself fading again and closed her eyes. Before she descended completely into the darkness, however, Gwen heard Arthur's voice cry out to her.

'Hold on, Guinevere!' she heard him yell. 'I'll find you!'

The night had chilled quite a bit as Arthur and Merlin sneaked out of the city walls and out into the open night air. It had been nearly half an hour since Gwen had been taken away from them and with each minute that passed, Arthur found it more and more difficult for him to think rationally as his fears for Gwen's safety only grew more and more intense.

“She'll be all right, Arthur,” Merlin said softly to his friend, sensing the turmoil that the prince was going through. “You told her that you'd find her, and Gwen knows that you'll keep your word.”

“I wouldn't blame her if she doubted me,” Arthur said quietly, his voice filled with defeat as they continued walking towards the field. “After what my father said at the feast and the way I practically delivered her to Norena, she probably despises me.”

Merlin gazed at Arthur solemnly. “If she has any doubts about you, Arthur, you finding her will change all of that. Maybe then you can prove to her just how much she really means to you, then.”

“I can only hope that she gives me that chance again,” Arthur said solemnly as he fixed his eyes at the dark field in front of them. “I know now that I need her, Merlin. She means more to me than anything else,” he then said quietly, his voice filled with all of the emotions that he generally suppressed and hid from everyone else.

“We're going to find her, and she's going to be fine,” Merlin said softly, his tone reassuring.

“I'm hoping that she's here,” Arthur then said as they walked out onto the field that Gwen had gone to earlier, and the two of them stood in the middle of it where the moon was shining down on them. “If she's not here, then we've wasted our time.”

“Norena had a tie to this place. Gaius and I both agreed that if she would take Gwen anywhere, it would most likely be here,” Merlin said urgently as he looked around the field at the surrounding trees. “We should try to find the tree that Gwen said Norena's markings were on.”

“Considering that we're surrounded by trees, how do you even think that's possible, especially when we can barely see a thing out here?” Arthur demanded shortly, looking at his companion with a stern face. “I don't see anything out here, Merlin. We're wasting precious time.”

“Gwen said that it was the largest tree around. She said that it was the oldest,” Merlin cried, looking for a tree that fit that description amongst the many that surrounded them. “I know she's-”

“Guinevere?” Arthur cut him off, his eyes looking right past Merlin, causing the young wizard to turn his gaze at the spot that the prince was staring at. Merlin saw a figure stumbling out from the treeline, and he was fairly certain that it was a woman though he couldn't tell if it was Gwen or not. Before he could try and get a better look, however, Arthur was shooting right past him right for the figure. “Guinevere!” he cried out excitedly as he continued to run for the woman.

“Arthur, wait!” Merlin called out after him to stop. “Arthur!”

The prince was oblivious to Merlin's cries as he continued to run for the figure that had come out from the trees. Though he couldn't see her face well, either, he knew that it was Gwen. He would have been able to recognize her anywhere. It was his Guinevere, and all he could really feel was relief and glee that she was all right.

As he reached her, Arthur opened his arms and wrapped them tightly around her, pulling her into them. She was trembling and she was so cold, but he didn't care. He was just happy once again to have her body close to his again, to feel her face against his chest, her skin on his.

“I'm sorry I let you go,” he whispered, still embracing her tightly against him. “I'll never let you go again.”

“ARTHUR! Get away from her!” Merlin suddenly cried as he ran towards them. “That's not Gwen!”

Arthur frowned at his servant over his shoulder as he still held Gwen's body close. “What are you talking about, Merlin? Of course this is Gwen.”

“I said get away from her, Arthur. Look at her face!” Merlin cried as he came up behind him, holding out the sword he had in his hands with the point pointed directly at Gwen.

Still frowning, Arthur slowly pulled away from the figure that he had been embracing. She was still trembling, and Arthur hated having to let her go, but when he looked down into her face, he saw that her eyes were closed. She was mumbling something under her breath as she continued to stand in front of him, her arms dangling down at her side where they had stayed even when he was hugging her. Something was wrong, now, and Arthur now knew it as he slowly began to back away, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.

“Guinevere?” he asked gently, his voice laced with worry. “Guinevere are you all right?”

“Her eyes,” Merlin whispered to Arthur. “Her eyes were completely black when you were hugging her. I saw them. Norena must have done something to her.”

“Then where's Norena?” Arthur asked, his eyes still focused on the handmaiden's figure who still had her eyes closed.

'I'm here, little princeling,' a voice that sounded like something from a nightmare, suddenly cried, and to Arthur and Merlin's astonishment it was coming from Gwen's lips. Her eyes opened, and like Merlin had said before, they were completely black with no whites around her pupils. 'Guinevere is mine now. You've failed, her. You've come too late. '

Gritting his teeth, Arthur unsheathed his sword though he kept it at his side rather than pointing it at her. Despite the fact that he knew that Norena was in her body now, he still couldn't bring himself to point his sword at her. “I demand you get out of her now, witch!” Arthur commanded through his gritted teeth.

A grin spread across Gwen's face, but it was Norena's laughter that escaped her lips afterwords. Raising her arm up, she flicked her wrist at Arthur and the prince suddenly flew backwards, falling with a rough thud in the middle of the field, a good ten meters from where he had been standing.

'I'm not a witch,' she said as she cackled again. 'I'm something much, much worse.'

With Arthur temporarily knocked out, Merlin raised his hand and called out a spell, his eyes flashing gold. Norena, in Gwen's body, stumbled backwards, clutching at her chest. She looked up with fury written all over her face and her eyes still completely black. She once again raised her arm up and with another flick of her wrist, a ball of blue flame suddenly left her fingertips, flying right for Merlin. He was barely able to jump aside as it flew right past him, right into a nearby tree that suddenly burst into blue flames that incinerated the wood in a matter of seconds before the flames just snuffed out.

Merlin was barely able to get back onto his feet before Norena was on him, her cold hand wrapping around his throat while lifting him into the air, his feet dangling beneath him. Without the ability to speak, Merlin couldn't shoot another spell, and he was left helpless.

'Ah yes, the boy wizard with his magical powers,' Norena whispered as she grinned again. 'You caught me off guard at the castle. You weren't going to do it again here, and you won't get in my way again,' she said with evil glee.

She turned her head and looked back into the forest where she had come out only moments before. Holding her hand out, she mumbled something under her breath and suddenly a silver object burst right out of the trees and landed perfectly in her hands. Merlin, who was struggling to stay conscious, looked down at the newly obtained object and saw that it was a sword. He assumed that it was the very sword that Gwen had stabbed Norena with earlier when she had been taken into Norena's past.

Throwing him down onto the ground, Norena grinned. 'Are you ready to be the first to die by my hands, boy?' she questioned as she placed the tip right at his throat that was still too raw from her recent hold on him to allow him to say anything. At his silence, Norena shrugged. 'Very well, then, I shall make this quick,' she then said and lifted the sword over her head to bring it down on him.

The strike came down hard. Merlin closed his eyes, awaiting for the end, but the blow was stopped just before hitting him by a large body colliding with Norena's pushing her away. Merlin opened his eyes to see Arthur standing over him with his sword still drawn and his eyes fixed on Norena who was slowly rising to her feet once again a few meters away from them.

“Get up, Merlin!” Arthur ordered him sternly though his eyes still remained on Norena in Gwen's body.

The enchantress was glaring at Arthur with the sword still in her hands. She looked winded by Arthur's hard shove, her body-or rather Gwen's-still working to recover. She lifted the blade up, threateningly, before running right for Arthur with the blade in her hands pointing directly at him. She swung somewhat artfully at the prince as she approached him, though Arthur was able to deflect the swing rather easily with his own sword. That did not deter Norena, however, for she was quick to to make another lunge which was somewhat more difficult for Arthur to deflect this time. More attacks of the same nature came at Arthur, but each time he was still able to deflect the blow, never trying to strike back.

“Arthur, you have to make a strike!” Merlin called out hoarsely, his yell coming out more as a whisper as he continued to try and recover his voice so that he could possibly help his master with a spell.

Arthur paid him no heed, acting as though he hadn't heard Merlin as he continued to focus on deflecting Norena's blows. At one point however, when Norena was coming at him again, Arthur feinted, moving to the right but then making a hard left which brought her stumbling past him. It was at that point that Arthur brought his sword up and slid his blade across her exposed arm, making her drop her sword. She ended up falling forward, her body sprawling out amongst the dirt of the field.

When she rolled over, Arthur put his sword at her throat, though he had to keep it from shaking as he saw himself holding the blade over Gwen's throat and not the enchantress's.

“Release her, Enchantress,” he said firmly as he continued to hold the blade at her throat. “Leave this body, now!”

'Or you'll do what, princeling? Kill me?' Norena asked with an evil smile as she gazed up into Arthur's face. 'Kill me, and you'll kill her, Arthur! I'm already dead. I cannot feel anything you do; in fact this-' she said, holding up her bleeding arm, 'is nothing to me. I could not feel it, and I still can't...but she can. She's still in here, and she's seeing and feeling everything that you're doing to her. I'm not surprised, though. You've betrayed her once already.'

Arthur lifted the point of the sword slightly but not by much. His arm was shaking now, as he looked down into the Enchantress's face though he now could only see Gwen looking back at him, her eyes restored to brown by the Enchantress's will. “Why would you do this to me, Arthur?” she cried, her voice restored as well as her face contorted with pain.

“R-Release her, Enchantress. She has done nothing to you. I don't believe she has ever done anything bad to anyone,” Arthur cried, his voice now filled with pleading. “Don't hurt her anymore.”

'Oh, but it is not I that is hurting her, Arthur, it is you,' Norena said coldly. 'You were the one who she cared about more than anyone else, and you betrayed her, just like your great grandfather betrayed me. You allowed your father's words to get in the way of what you felt for her, allowed him to manipulate you so that you would turn your back when she would have done anything for you. You broke her heart when you said that you couldn't be together and then turned your back on her.'

“But I always cared for her! She was always on my mind every second of the day. It was not her heart alone that was suffering when I said those words. It nearly killed me to have to tell her that we could not be together because she is the only woman that I would ever want by my side, the only woman I would ever want to have as my queen. I only told her what I had to because I wasn't willing to ask her to wait for a time when that could actually be together. I wasn't even sure if she even felt the same.”

'Well, she did, and you ended up betraying her anyway, and it was that betrayal that allowed her to fall into my web,' Norena replied indifferently. 'She is a strong creature with a strong heart, one that would never would have been within my grasp had you not toyed with her. She was weak after everything you did, but even weakened, she still fought me, nearly defeating me because of her love for you. But you had to ruin that by betraying her trust again at the feast tonight. You made her vulnerable and then you delivered her right to me for my use, and for that I thank you, though I still won't spare your life.'

“My father has the power to do things his own way as King of Camelot, and he thought that he could use that power to force me into something I had already refused to do before,” Arthur said through gritted teeth. “Though I had no knowledge of what he had planned on announcing at the feast, I did make my feelings clear to him after he had made that declaration that I was not going to follow along in his plans. I told him that my priority was in preparing myself for the day that I would take his place so that I could take care of our people. Though he was still upset, he is still my father and listens to what I have to say. He agreed that he would not force me into a marriage again and that he would allow me to marry when I felt it right. Though he would still dislike Guinevere to be my queen, he would have no right to do anything once I became king, and as king, the only woman I would ever allow to be by my side as queen would be her.”

With his hands now shaking noticeably, Arthur suddenly dropped the sword at his side and collapsed onto his knees before Norena.

“If it's me that you want, then take me,” Arthur stated, looking at her directly in the face, her eyes once again black, as she rose to her feet. “Though, I am no longer in a position to demand anything...I am begging you, now, to spare Guinevere's life when you are through with me. Whatever plans you have, I ask only that you do not use her. She is a pure heart, and I would wish for her to remain so.”

Merlin, who was watching from a ways back, immediately started for his friend to try and get him back up, but Norena was faster. Now that she was no longer threatened she pointed her hand at Merlin and with another flick of her wrist, she sent him flying back into the shadows of the forest so that he would not interfere.

Standing before Arthur who was still on his knees, his eyes now closed and his head bowed, Norena looked upon the man for a long moment with the sword in her hands. He reminded her so much of her Constantine, but then again, she could sense that he was different. She almost began to wonder if Guinevere had been right when she had said that this one was different from his father and the rest of the Pendragons. There was suddenly an inkling of doubt in what she was planning on doing, but it was still not enough to ease the anger that still blossomed within her.

Growling, Norena, lifted the sword up over her head. She found herself pausing, however, as she prepared to bring it down on his neck. She felt a strong tingling within her. It had been there ever since she had fully possessed the handmaiden but it was weak then. Now, however, it was stronger...much, much stronger. She felt the presence of the tingling begin to fill her, and this time she knew what it was...it was Guinevere, and she was beginning to take hold of herself. The prince's speech, no doubt, had gotten to her. Before Norena knew it, she was no longer in control. The sword dropped onto the ground and the handmaiden, now in control of herself again, dropped onto her knees in front of Arthur.

“Arthur,” Gwen whispered softly as she reached out and gently touched his cheek. “Arthur, open your eyes.”

Arthur opened his eyes at the sound of her voice, and when he did, he found himself gazing into the familiar brown eyes that he had come to love. He knew now that this really was Gwen, his Guinevere, and he reached out and took her face into his hands.

“Guinevere, you're really there!” he cried as he found himself smiling wide at the smile upon her face. “How is that possible?”

“I heard what you said, Arthur,” Gwen said as she allowed him to pull her closer so that his brow was pressed to hers. “I heard what you said about your father, and I heard how you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, and I knew then that I could never allow that.”

“I would do anything for you,” Arthur said softly, pulling away to look into her eyes. “I hurt you so much before and I allowed you to be hurt. I wasn't going to stand back and allow you to feel the pain again.”

Gwen suddenly winced as she grabbed at the mark on her breast, causing Arthur to look upon her worriedly.

“She's still in here, Arthur, and she's fighting to come back,” she cried as she closed her eyes. “We don't have much time!”

“No, you have to keep fighting, Guinevere!” Arthur said firmly. “You have to keep fighting against her. I know that you can!”

Gwen looked up into his face with tears coursing down her cheeks. “I love you, Arthur Pendragon,” she said softly. “I always have and I always will. I've known that you've always been a great man deep down, and I know that you are going to be a great king, one that the people will remember forever!”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips firmly to his, allowing him to see and feel the truth of her words. Arthur was quick to kiss back, his hand snaking around her neck to pull her closer to him. This kiss was different from their first kiss when feelings were still uncertain. It was much more passionate now that both knew that they were loved by the other. What was unknown, however, was that in Gwen's mind, it was a goodbye kiss.

When they finally parted for air, Arthur leaned in and gently kissed Gwen's cheeks, nose, and her brow. “I'm never going to let you go,” he whispered.

Gwen suddenly pulled away from him, getting back to her feet as she started to walk back away from him, more tears coursing down her chocolate cheeks. She had the sword once again in her hands as she stood back from him.

“Guinevere? What are you doing?” Arthur demanded as he looked at her with the sword shaking in her trembling hands.

Gwen shook her head. “She's still coming, and I can't allow her to hurt you or for you to sacrifice yourself for me,” she cried, now lifting the sword. She now held the sword with both hands as she placed the point of the blade at her stomach. “I can't let her use me to harm you, and without me, she won't be able to. The people need you to be the king that they've always hoped for. They need the man that I have always seen inside of you, Arthur.”

Realizing what she was actually planning on doing, Arthur immediately rose to his feet. “No...No, don't do that,” he said, holding his hand out as if he could just reach through the distance and take it from her. “Please, don't this, Guinevere. We can fight her. I know we can!”

Smiling sadly at her love, Gwen slowly shook her head. “I love you, Arthur” she whispered, and with that, she suddenly pushed down on the handle, sending the silver blade through her small body.

“NO!” Arthur screamed at the top of this lungs as he ran towards her. “Gods, no! GUINEVERE!” he cried.

Gwen collapsed onto her knees with the blade still embedded in her stomach, her eyes becoming glassy as she watched her love running towards her. A slow smile suddenly crossed her face as if she were trying to reassure him that she would be all right even though she knew she wouldn't be...not without him. She then closed her eyes and fell back, her body landing with a dull thump against the ground.

Arthur continued to run for her but before he could reach her, her body slowly began to rise from the field floor. The blade was suddenly gone as her body hung in the air as if laid out on an invisible platform. Shadows suddenly began to sprout from her thin form. Quite suddenly, a dark object suddenly lifted from Gwen's body, right above her chest. The dark object suddenly began to sprout a form of a woman as it looked down upon Gwen. Arthur saw a pale face with black eyes suddenly appearing, hovering over Gwen's form. Her face was mostly concealed by long, black tresses that blew around her head, but from what Arthur could see, which was not much, he thought that he saw that her pale cheeks covered with tears as she looked down at Gwen. The shadowy figure suddenly lifted her gaze and looked at Arthur, her eyes still as black as ever and still frightening. He expected her to attack him, but instead, she simply vanished.

Arthur didn't care where the figure went as he ran the rest of the way to where Gwen's body was now lying back on the ground. He saw in the moonlight the way her red and purple dress was now darkened by the blood that was still oozing from the wound that she had inflicted upon herself. Going to her, Arthur took her into his arms, pulling her into his lap. Her body was still warm, but he could feel her hands already getting cold.

Holding her close, Arthur kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, and finally her lips. He was shaking now-sobs ripping through his lips as he held the one he loved. Tears, that Arthur generally refused to shed for anything or anyone, suddenly began to course down his cheeks and onto Gwen's making it appears as though she, too, was crying. Still holding her closely to him, Arthur rocked back and forth as the tears continued to fall. “No, Guinevere, don't leave me,” he cried softly against her skin. “I need you.”

Merlin woke, feeling like he had been slammed repeatedly against a stone wall, though he wasn't too far off course as he had actually been slammed once against a large oak. He had momentarily forgotten where he was, the dark shadows surrounding him, confusing him. Everything suddenly rushed back to him about Gwen having been possessed by Norena and Arthur surrendering himself to Norena for Gwen's sake.

Immediately getting back to his feet, Merlin began to run to the small opening in the forest that he had been blown in through. As he was running however, he suddenly felt a cold presence behind him and he slowed to a stop just out of reach of the opening. Turning around, he saw Norena, her shadowy figure immersed in a dull blue light, hovering over him.

Thinking that she was going to attack, Merlin raised his hand to issue a spell out, when he suddenly saw her lift her hand up to him and heard her say, 'Please, don't...at least not yet. I wish to speak to you, first, wizard,”

Merlin kept his hand up but didn't say the spell as he frowned up at her. “How did you get out of Gwen? Did you kill her, too, after you killed Arthur?”

'Your prince is alive, but Guinevere is dead,' Norena replied, her voice filled with an emotion that Merlin thought to be sorrow, though he doubted himself for thinking so.

“What did you do to her? Did you make him kill her?” he cried out, preparing to send the most hateful spell he could think of her way. Tears were stinging his eyes at the though of his friend dead. “I should kill you now!”

'I did not kill the handmaiden...directly,' Norena said quietly. 'She managed to regain herself momentarily...and she took her own life to prevent me from harming Arthur. She sacrificed herself for him.'

“You pushed her to do it! You were going to use her!” Merlin screamed. “She was stronger than you think! She always has been. She didn't deserve this, and I'm going to make you pay for it!” he said thinking of the perfect spell to send at her.

Norena once again raised her hand up to him to ask him to stop. 'I know now that what I did was wrong, but I wish to fix this.'

“How can you fix this if Gwen's really dead!?” Merlin cried out, still furious as tears already began to fill his eyes at the though of never seeing Gwen smile at him again or babble about something silly. “You can't raise her from the dead.”

'Oh? And I thought you were a great wizard,' Norena said solemnly, her eyes looking upon him coolly 'You do have the ability.'

“But if I managed to raise her back, there would have to be a death! I can't risk someone else dying, even for Gwen,” Merlin said angrily.

'You need a spirit to replace the one she gave up. I shall give you a spirit, Wizard. I shall give you my own,' Norena said solemnly. 'If you heal your friend , then I will give myself to the forces that seek equilibrium. You have my word.'

“I can't trust your word!” Merlin spat at her. “This is all your fault. Besides, why would you want to help her after what you did?” he then demanded.

'My word is your only hope, boy. The equilibrium with magic can be worked around. Believe me, I know. If you want her back, then you must listen to what I say. The reasons for my actions are my own and I will not explain them to you,' Norena said coldly. 'Take it or leave it.'

Despite the growing suspicion Merlin had, the young wizard could sense from her words that she was telling the truth. He was still suspicious of her motives, but he ended up nodding to her proposal all the same, to which Norena simply nodded before blowing past him towards the opening that would lead back out onto the field.

When Merlin walked out of the forest and onto the field, the first thing he noticed was Arthur holding Gwen's lifeless body in his arms. Norena was nowhere in sight. He paused for a moment, thinking of what he was going to be revealing to his friend with this plan that he was going to execute for Norena, but he knew that Gwen's life depended on it, and he knew that it was something he had to do. Taking in a deep breath, he continued to stride towards Arthur, kneeling beside the prince when he finally reached him though Arthur was oblivious to his presence as he continued to stare down into Gwen's face.

“She gave her life for me,” he suddenly spoke, startling Merlin who was sitting across from him. His voice was filled with tears though his cheeks were now dry despite the tear tracks that the the previous tears had left. “She said that I would be a great king one day.”

“And you will, Arthur,” Merlin said softly. “She always knew it.”

Finally looking up, Arthur looked right into Merlin's face, his eyes filled with tears. “I...I don't think I can...I can do it without her,” he said, his voice shaking as a single tear suddenly coursed down his face. “I knew that I would be king from the beginning, but after I met her...” he paused as he lifted a hand to brush away the tear that had just fallen. “She made me want to be king. She made me want to be the man she saw but I didn't. How can I do it without her, now?”

Knowing that this was the time, if there was any, Merlin sighed heavily. “I can bring her back, Arthur,” he said solemnly. “I can give her back to you.”

Arthur frowned. “She's dead, Merlin. How can you possibly bring her back?”

Leaning forward, Merlin reached out and took Gwen's arm, pulling her slowly away from the prince. Arthur looked upon him with confusion as the young wizard laid Gwen back down on the ground with her wound facing up. He looked at Merlin, demanding answers, but the wizard was more focused on the task at hand.

Looking down at the wound, Merlin closed his eyes to focus on the right spell. Opening them again, he placed his hand on Gwen's wounded abdomen, whispering the spell out loud. He could hear Arthur crying out at the flash of gold in his eyes , but he continued to force himself to focus on the task at hand. Sure enough, the wound on her stomach healed, though Gwen still did not open her eyes, nor did her chest rise either to indicate she was even breathing.

Doubt began to fill Merlin's head as he looked around for Norena. He was beginning to think that Norena had done this to expose him or use him in some other way, his fury building up within that he had allowed himself to trust her. Looking up at Arthur, he found the prince staring at him long and hard, his jaw clenched.

What have I done? Merlin thought as he saw Arthur suddenly grab for the sword on the ground.

Gwen was surrounded by black. She was floating around with nothing around her but darkness. She knew that she was dead, but she did not know where she was now. She had not expected the after-life to be so...empty.

Her death kept on flashing through her mind, and she remembered the look of horror in her love's eyes as she had faded into black. She was still sad that she had had to leave Arthur behind, but she had considered her death somewhat of a triumph considering that she had saved his life, but that did nothing to stop the pain that she felt at not being able to see him again or feel his arms around her.

“Guinevere,” Gwen heard a voice speak from behind her, and turning around, she found herself once again face-to-face with Norena, though this time, Gwen wasn't afraid. No, now she was angry.

“I killed you, then? You deserved it!” she shouted, her hands balled up into fists at her side.

Norena lifted her hand up as a gesture that she wasn't going to do anything. “I know that you are angry with me, and you have every right to be. But you must know that you succeeded in saving Arthur's life. I would have killed him had I regained control over your body.”

Gwen took a step towards her, ready to give Norena a good fist to the face when Norena spoke again.

“But it's because of what you went through...for him, that I finally realized that I was wrong.”

Gwen paused, dropping her fist at her side. “It took my life and nearly Arthur's for you to see that?” she cried, sorrow beginning to swirl around her stomach. “I know that you were betrayed by Constantine, and that you really loved him, but a part of love is the willingness to forgive. Constantine fought for you in the end. He truly loved you enough to try and stay by your side!”

Norena said nothing towards this, though her eyes were now misted over as she continued to stare at Gwen. Feeling more pity than anger towards her, Gwen sighed and turned around.

“As long as Arthur's safe, I don't care,” she said quietly, staring into the black.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and looking back, she found Norena smiling down at her. It made Gwen realize just how pretty she really was.

“I took your chance to be with Arthur away from you like Constantine's father took my chance to be with Constantine away from me,” she said quietly. “Unlike him, however, I am able to see my mistake, and if your friend, Merlin, does what I have asked, my mistake shall be fixed.”

Gwen shook her head, confused. “I don't understand. What can Merlin do?” she questioned.

As soon as she spoke those words, Gwen suddenly felt a warm sensation swirling around her stomach where she had stabbed herself. Looking down, she saw a light shining right through her. She was panicked at first as she looked at Norena, but when she saw the Enchantress smiling at her, she knew that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

“Hmm, your friend is more powerful than I gave him credit for,” Norena said softly as the light continued to expand, filling up Gwen's entire being. “Be sure to thank him for me when you see him again, and apologize to both him and your prince for what I did.”

Gwen looked at her, still confused. “I don't understand, what's happening?” she cried, looking down at her stomach and her hands that were now also giving off a light.

“You're getting your chance to be with your prince,again,” Norena said softly. “I hope you take full advantage of it.”

Gwen suddenly felt an invisible hook wrap around her, and suddenly she found herself being pulled away from Norena. She almost cried out at how fast she was being taken away, but she instead closed her eyes, waiting for the sensation to end and for whatever was to come next to just happen.

Opening her eyes, Gwen looked back to Norena to call out a thank you. When she looked Norena was far away, though Gwen could vaguely still see her. She saw that there was another figure standing beside Norena, and squinting, Gwen saw that it was none other than Constantine. She watched the figure of Arthur's ancestor offer his hand to the Enchantress who slipped her hand in his. Gwen closed her eyes, however, as she watched them lean towards one another for a kiss. When she opened them again, neither of them were there. Gwen thought that she was alone, but it was at that moment that she heard her name being called.

“Gwen?” the voice said, “Guinevere? Can you hear me?”

Merlin looked up at Arthur as his friend pointed the blood-tipped sword at him. “You're like Norena!” he cried out through clenched teeth. “Or are you, Norena?” he demanded.

“I am your friend, Arthur. I just needed to try...”

Merlin dropped off as he glanced down, thinking that he had seen Gwen's body move, which made him pause to lean over her to inspect her more. Arthur, thinking that Merlin was planning on doing something to her, tried to ward him off, but when he looked down, he too suddenly saw Gwen move. At that point, he dropped his sword and once again knelt down beside her, taking her hand into his.

“Gwen? Guinevere?” he questioned, focusing now completely on her face. “Gwen, can you hear me?”

Gwen did not respond, but suddenly, her chest began to rise and fall as breaths suddenly escaped her mouth. Arthur's eyes opened wide as he looked up at Merlin who was still focused on Gwen.

“She's breathing!” he cried out. “What did you do?”

“I...I healed her wound like-”

“Ssh, I thought I heard her groan,” Arthur cried, shushing Merlin as he leaned down closer and placed his ear right above her mouth. The prince's face was still filled with doubt about everything that was happening, but there was a light in his eyes now that had replaced the dull emptiness that was there before. There was hope again.

“Guinevere? If you can hear me, open you eyes,” Arthur said softly to her. “Please, love, open your eyes.”

Gwen still did not respond though she still continued to breathe. At this, Arthur looked at Merlin with a frown. “Why isn't she waking?” he demanded.

“Keep talking to her,” Merlin suggested. “She may wake up with your voice.”

“Guinevere,” Arthur whispered into her ear. “Can you hear me, Guinevere?”

Gwen groaned, and this time Merlin heard it as well, his eyes widening with joy. “I heard that!”

Arthur held his finger to lips to silence Merlin once again before looking back down at Gwen. “Guinevere,” he said softly. “Open your eyes.”

She let out another groan, but then suddenly her eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly before looking straight up into Arthur's face. She looked at him, puzzled for a long moment before she looked down and saw the blood that was all over her dress. Her eyes suddenly widened before she looked up at Merlin and found him smiling down at her with his usual goofy grin.

“I...I thought it had all been a dream, but it was real, wasn't it?” she asked softly, looking between the both of them.

Merlin was the one to respond as Arthur just stared at her with complete disbelief and awe.

“It was real, Gwen,” he said quietly. “But you're back now!”

Gwen nodded slowly before returning her gaze back to Arthur who was still staring down at her with wide eyes.

“You're really okay,” she whispered with a smile as she looked up at him. “I thought I wasn't going to see you again.”

Getting over his moment of shock, Arthur reached down and pulled Gwen up, crushing his lips against hers as he pulled her close. Gwen kissed back just as eagerly as she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close to her. Neither of them seemed the least bit concerned with the fact that Merlin was still there, though he did turn his gaze away as he tried to find anything to look at rather than them. He found himself looking to the east where he saw the sun rising up above the hills. The horrible night had truly come to and end.

When the two finally broke for air, Gwen tucked her head under Arthur's chin as Arthur pulled her fully back into his arms. She finally pulled away-just a little-to look at Merlin who had returned his gaze to them since they had separated. Reaching out the hand that was closest to him, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly.

“Thank you, Merlin,” she whispered softly. “I know that it was you that helped me back, and I'm forever grateful,” she said as a tear coursed down her cheek. “Norena said to thank you as well.”

“So it was Norena then?” Arthur demanded, looking at him. “You were possessed?”

“I...”Merlin paused as he contemplated saying that it wasn't Norena and just revealing that he really was a wizard, but instead, he sighed and continued with: “...I don't know. I just suddenly had the urge to heal Gwen.”

“She came to me when I was in limbo,” Gwen said softly. “She said that she realized that we truly loved one another. She said that she knew that she was wrong and that she was going to try and fix her mistake. She must have used Merlin to do it,” she then said, grinning up at Merlin.

“Norena?” Arthur questioned with disbelief. “She did this?”

“She must have,” Merlin said quietly, averting his eyes to the ground. “All that matters is that we have you back, Gwen.”

“Yes, I guess that's all that does matter,” Arthur said, looking at Merlin with a look in his eyes that said that he wasn't quite sure. He then averted his eyes back down to Gwen, and Merlin got up knowing that they were going to get mushy with each other again.

Arthur continued to look down at Gwen's face, his fingers brushing across her dark cheek. “I think you already know that I'm ordering you never to do that again,” he said quietly, his thumb brushing against her lips. “If you ever do anything like that again I...I...I don't know what I'll do,” he said, looking up trying to think of a suitable punishment.

Gwen sighed as she burrowed even closer to him. “I didn't mean to scare you, but I can't promise you that I won't do it again because if anything like that happens again and you're in danger, I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing,” she said solemnly. “You're important, Arthur, far more important than me, and like I said before, you're going to be the great king that everyone will love.”

“I can be a king without you, Guinevere,” Arthur whispered softly as he looked down into her face. “But I can only be a great king if I have a good queen by my side, and I know now that that has to be you.”

Lifting her head up, Gwen looked up into his eyes with a smile, “Is that a proposal, Arthur Pendragon?” she asked teasingly as she let out a small giggle.

“Yes,” he said seriously. “I wouldn't want any other, so yes, I'm asking you to be my queen.”

With the smile fading, Gwen frowned up into his face. “Arthur, don't tease me,” she said sternly.

Arthur grinned as he leaned in and gently kissed her lips, his hand squeezing hers. “I'm not teasing you, Guinevere. I'm seriously asking for you to wait for me. If you will, then I promise that on the day that I become king, I will make you the Queen that you have always deserved to be. I will not have any other woman at my side.”

Grinning now, Gwen responded by placing another firm kiss upon his lips and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I was willing to wait for you an entire lifetime,” she whispered. “I think that I can manage to wait for the time when we can be together openly in this life.”

“That doesn't mean that we can't be together when we're not in the open, does it?” he questioned with a worried expression on his face. “I can still kiss you, can't I?”

Rolling her eyes, Gwen once again placed a hasty kiss to his cheek before breaking free and running over to Merlin who was standing by the large oak with the symbols and the names of her family. Gwen stopped beside him, lacing her fingers through his as she looked down at the tree.

“Are the two of you finally done with all of...that?” Merlin asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders with feigned disgust on his face.

Sighing, Gwen glanced at Arthur who was slowly making his way towards them. She then looked up at Merlin. “It was really you, wasn't it?” she whispered quickly. “You weren't possessed by Norena, were you?”

Merlin frowned as he gazed down at her, flicking his eyes quickly to where Arthur was still quite a good ways away. “How did you know?”

“Because when Norena was talking to me, she said that she didn't know you were so powerful,” Gwen whispered. “Back at the castle, I also thought I saw that your eyes turned golden, and I think I've always suspected as much from you. You were always a little strange. I mean, youweren't really strange, but you were strange. I mean-”

Merlin grinned as he realized just how much he had missed her babbling. “I know what you mean,” he said softly, squeezing her shoulder gently. He grew more serious as he continued. “Can I trust you to keep my secret?”

Gwen glanced back at Arthur who was now fast closing in on them. She looked back up at Merlin and nodded. “I'll keep your secret, Merlin, but wouldn't you want to tell him about it yourself? Surely, it must be hard work keeping such a large secret from him. I think Arthur would understand,” she whispered.

“I'll understand what?” Arthur asked as he finally approached them, frowning at Merlin's arm on Gwen's shoulder.

Gwen looked a little panicked as she looked back up at Merlin, but Merlin-somewhat used to these situations-merely shrugged.

“Gwen wants to run away and marry me instead of you. She said that she realized that she really loved me all along,” Merlin said nonchalantly.

Knocking his arm off of Gwen's shoulder, Arthur frowned, sensing that they had truly been talking about something else. Sensing that they weren't going to share, however, he sighed. “Like I've told you before, you should choose women who are at your...level,” he said quietly as he pulled Gwen back to him.

“I am at his level, Arthur,” Gwen said softly, gently pushing him away. “Besides, I know first hand what a great kisser he is,” she said grinning up at the young wizard.

Arthur looked at Merlin with wide eyes, demanding some kind of explanation but Merlin kept his gaze fixed on the tree, ignoring the blush that was creeping up his neck. “I noticed that your name was on this tree, Gwen. Is this your mother and father's names, too?” he asked, hoping to change the subject.

Gwen walked forward and brushed her fingers across the names of her family. “My father said that this was how he told my mother that he loved her,” she said with a fond smile on her lips. “He said that he hoped that when people saw their names, they would know that he loved her and that a piece of their love would always be alive forever with this tree. He added my name so I could be with them, forever, too,”

“It's beautiful,” Merlin said softly, admiring the names. He then flicked his eyes up at the symbols above their. “Is that Norena's?”

Gwen nodded. “Yes, that's her mark with Arthur's great grandfather, Constantine's symbol,” she said softly. “It was those marks that gave my father the idea to leave his name and my mother's here. He said that he always sensed that the symbols Norena left were left out of love.”

“Merlin, scrape off those symbols. They shouldn't be with Gwen's,” Arthur said firmly. “I don't want to see them there.”

Merlin moved to step forward, but Gwen placed her hand up to stop him. “No, don't!” she protested. “Don't touch them, please.”

Arthur frowned. “Why would you want to keep them there, especially after what she did?”

“She may have done something terrible, but she fixed that mistake,” Gwen said quietly. “What she left on this tree was something that she sincerely felt. She loved your great-grandfather, and she left that mark there because she loved him. Considering that she still loved him until the very end, I think she should be allowed to be remembered for that and not for what she did to me.”

“Fine, we'll leave them,” Arthur said reluctantly as he came up beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “If you want them to stay, then they'll stay.”

“Then they'll stay,” Gwen confirmed reverently as she brushed her fingers over Norena's symbols as well. “But as for the marks that my father left behind...I don't think they're quite finished.”

She suddenly reached out and grabbed a hold of the dagger in Merlin's belt. The young wizard almost protested considering that the evidence of what she had done with the last sharp object still covered the front of her gown, but he remained quiet at the solemn look that Arthur shot at him. He instead watched as Gwen walked towards the tree and started working at it with the dagger in her hands.

When she stepped back, the two men looked down at what she had carved into the wood. Arthur found himself frowning at what he saw first, though what he read aloud made Merlin grin. Next to the 'Guinevere' that had been carved by Tom was Gwen's shaky carving though it was still clear: 'Merlin, friend and companion, now and always.'

Arthur huffed. “You should add lazy servant to that!” he murmured which earned him a frown from both Gwen and Merlin. Looking away, he frowned. “Why did you add him to the tree?” he then asked, somewhat offended.

Gwen smiled as she laced her arm through Arthur's. “I didn't just add him. Look closer, love,” she said softly.

Moving away from Gwen, Arthur leaned in and sure enough he saw some more of Gwen's carving underneath her name, though he had to lean in to see it closely. It said, all together: 'Guinevere+Arthur. Love that will defy even death.'

When he stood up again, Arthur immediately looked to Gwen who was smiling wide at him. Going to her, he once again took her face into his hands and pressed his lips to hers, which caused Merlin to roll his eyes as he once again turned his head to look away.

“That's disgusting, you two! Couldn't you wait to be alone to do that kind of thing?” he complained.

“Shut up, Merlin!” Arthur cried out, glaring at his manservant as he lifted his face from Gwen's.

Giggling again, Gwen lifted herself up to kiss Arthur on the nose. “Okay, that is enough for now. Poor Merlin has seen enough,” she said softly as she pulled away from him. “Besides, we should really be returning back to the city. I'm sure Gaius and Morgana are worried sick!”

Arthur groaned and nodded, though he did manage to keep his hands off of her. He shot Merlin a stern glare as they all turned around to start the long trek back towards the city. Merlin responded with a goofy grin and a simple shrug as he made sure to stand on the opposite side of Gwen to stay out of the prince's reach. As they all reached the middle of the field however, Merlin stopped.

“Oh, I forgot my sword. I should go get it,” he said to his two friends.

Arthur rolled his head at his forgetfulness while Gwen simply smiled and nodded. He then turned and ran back towards the tree while they continued on, though they were now just walking close together instead of holding hands since they were out in the open. This was acceptable now that everything between them was known to one another.

When Merlin reached the tree, he picked up the sword that he had purposely left behind before and sheathed it at his belt. Making sure that Gwen and Arthur were out of sight, he then looked back to the tree. Lifting his hand, he mumbled a spell under his breath. Suddenly, a strong force left his fingers and entered into the tree, down into the roots and then up to the highest branch. With that simple spell, he ensured that what was left on that tree would truly remain there forever. Through his one deed, he ensured that they all would remain together forever.

Grinning at his work, Merlin sighed before turning around and running back out onto the field to catch up to his friends. He managed to catch up with them at the furthest edge and was greeted warmly at his return-at least he had been greeted warmly by Gwen.

“What took you so long? Did you forget your head as well as your sword this time?” Arthur questioned him teasingly.

Merlin shrugged. “No, I retrieved my sword,” he said, pointing down at the sword on his hip. “I was just admiring the markings again,” he then said, giving Gwen a meaningful look. “I really do think they'll last forever.”

Knowing to what he was trying to imply, Gwen grinned. “I'm sure they will. I'm glad...that you like them so much,” she then said, her words filled with their own separate meaning. Arthur looked between them suspiciously, but merely shook it off as nothing as they continued on their walk back.

Gwen found herself truly at peace as she walked towards the city walls with the man that she had openly declared her love for on one side and the man that she had made a secret alliance with on the other. The unstoppable duo were on her side, and with allies like them, she knew that she could very well face the world and still win. Though things were still very much uncertain for her and the road she had placed her feet on, Gwen was certain of two things: no matter what trials came her way, she would be ready to for them, and through most of what she was set to bear, she was certain that she would not have to bear it alone. She was not alone.

The End