Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: Welcome to my fic. If you have feedback give it to me nicely. 

Rose was walking through the village of Ealdor the sun coming down on her head. She was on her way back to her house after doing her chores around the village. Recently she had been ill, and it was so nice to get out the house for a bit. Hunnith had nagged her not to do too much work in case it made her ill again. Rose lived with her brother Will and Will had raised her with the help of Hunnith and the other villagers from a young age and everyone would call her the young one. She was the baby of village of even though she was 9 years old. She was grown up for her age and tall for her age. Rose was a tall girl with long limbs, and she had black long hair and blue eyes. She looked nothing like her brother who had mousy brown hair.

She heard horses’ approach and she got out the way of a horse cantering into the village. She looked around at everyone scattering around. Grabbing their kids and taking them inside. She looked round and watched Will edge round the group of men and Hunnith going around the others and the raiders attempting to get to her. One stayed on his horse he was Kanen the leader of the bandits as the others ran around looting the village.
“It’s Harvest time” said Kanen. Mathew got bought forward by two of the bandits. The man looked through the bags “Where’s the rest?” Rose felt a rage inside her bubbling inside like boiled water.
“We kept what we had to do to survive, we have had a young one that has been ill” said Mathew he glanced at Rose. Kanen scoffed and got off his horse and moved towards Mathew.

Rose felt a protectiveness towards Mathew since Rose had been ill, she had been amazed by how supportive the village of Ealdor had been towards her. Hunnith had been nursing her, Mathew had been saving food for her and everyone else would donate food and time to try and help her and Will.
“Survive, men look for the rest” said Kanen. His men bought bags off food over he laughed. He pushed Mathew to the ground and took the bags. Rose pushed him and took a bag back Kanen advanced on her and took the bag back getting to ready to hit her. Rose readied her magic but was distracted Hunnith running over and getting in between them. Will also got to her and took her hand and pulled her back.
“No! how are we going to feed our children, I won’t let you take it or harm her” shouted Hunnith.

Will attempted to pull Rose away and when she didn’t move, he lifted her off her feet easily and scoped her up in his arms before taking her into their house. She was lowered down on the bed and she suddenly had a feeling of weakness and tiredness. She felt a very cold feeling wash over her.  She felt sweat bead on her face and the ill feeling she thought she had got rid of return.
“Not again, I keep telling you give it a few days and then go back to chores” said Will he came over with the water bucket and a rag.
“I was better” said Rose sadly she used her magic to wrap the blanket round herself and snuggled into the cover. Hunnith came in Rose looked up and sighed the women had a black eye would she ever learn. Hunnith sat herself next to Rose and Rose shifted so she was cuddled into Hunnith. Hunnith stroked her sweaty hair and put the wet rag to her head.
“We need help, we can’t do this alone” said Will suddenly he went into the kitchen and attempted to look for food.
“Cenred couldn’t care less about us, it’ll have to be Camelot, we need Merlin,” said Rose. She rubbed her head on Hunnith’s shoulder needing that feeling on her face.
“I will go and ask for help” said Hunnith. Rose nodded and let herself fall into an uneasy and fever ridden sleep.

Rose woke up some time later she was confused it was day light but early morning daylight she must have been asleep for a while. She looked across to Will who was asleep she coughed, and he awoke with a shot. He looked exhausted and frightened which turned to pure relief.
“Here drink this” said Will giving her a drink she drank it and instantly wished she hadn’t drunk it. As it was a potion that was vile in taste and was thick down her throat. She sat up and her head felt a bit clearer. Her confusion however was feeling worse. How long had she been asleep for? She could have been asleep for years and not even have noticed.
“What was that?” asked Rose.
“Delivered by a traveller, she gives her best wishes” said Will. Rose gave him a look of confusion.
“How long have I been out?” asked Rose.
“You passed out not yesterday but the day before, we were worried you weren’t going to make it, then a traveller came telling us she can help you, she did something to you then gave me this to give you when you woke up” said Will. Rose was even more confused who had been the traveller and why had she helped her she was a stranger.
“Who was she? What did she look like?” asked Rose
“I don’t know she was blonde, tall, wore a red flowing dress it was like she just appeared” said Will. Rose went to open her mouth, but Will shushed her “listen”.

She got up slowly, she was unsteady, but she felt a load better than she had done in a while she went to the door and saw that Kanen was back with his men.
“Did Hunnith come back?” asked Rose.
“No but by my guess is they should be back soon” said Will. One of the men went and pushed over the pig farmer. Rose grabbed her father’s sword and ran towards the man beating up the pig farmer. Mathew got hold of her though and shielded her from Kanen’s glare. The man came forward with bags of seed and wheat.
“We have to eat” snapped Mathew.
“Eat” sneered Kanen. Rose went to move forward, but Mathew pulled her back.
“And we need to resow the fields for next year, we only kept the bare minimum, the child needs to be fed or she could get worse, you can take the rest” said Mathew.

Rose heart melted at the kindness and calmness that he was showing even though they both had Kanen looming over them.
“that sounds fair” said Kanen. Mathew nodded and smiled but then Kanen punched him in the gut and he fell to the floor and he laid there groaning “and your sickly girl can be put out your misery”. She was pushed to the ground the opposite side of Mathew her sword dropped from her hand and she looked up to see Kanen was holding an axe over her head. She was about to use her magic but the sound of hoof beats and the sword that went flying at Kanen distracted her. She looked up to see a very handsome blonde man come cantering into the village he got off his horse and started to fight someone. Rose stayed on the floor confused and even more relieved she was alive.

She noticed Merlin got off his horse and join in with the action. She then spotted it a deep connection with a woman she had black long hair and was wearing casual clothes. Rose felt like she had known this woman all her life she was too distracted by the woman she had forgotten how exposed she was. One of Kanen’s men was standing over her ready to finish off the job. Rose sent him back with magic and got up. She ran over to Will who was watching Merlin heat up a sword to disown his opponent. The man screamed and using the distraction Rose stabbed him in the back with her sword. He fell forwards and Merlin moved.

She turned to the woman she had the connection with disarm a man for the blonde man she loved it. Kanen retreated with threats and Rose looked around everyone was alive she ran over to Merlin and chucked herself at him with force. He caught her just in time as they fell backwards together. She was thrilled to see him again she was worried at one point she would never see him again. Merlin had always been a friend to her and sometimes he acted like a big brother.
“I have missed you to Rose” said Merlin he held her to him.
“Merlin, gather the villagers I want to talk to them” said the blond man. 
“Give me a minute I am just being crushed,” said Merlin.
“Now Merlin there isn’t much time,” said the man. Rose got up and brushed herself down. She helped merlin gather everyone together they all stood in the square. Merlin was telling her who everyone was. She walked along side him. 
"who are your friends?" said Rose as they got to the main square.
“The blond is prince Arthur, the white lady in green and grey with black hair is the lady Morgana and her maid Gwen” said Merlin pointing to them in turn, she nodded at them before going to stand next to Will.

“I know Kanen’s kind he will be back and when he does, we’ll be ready for him,” said Arthur. He oozed nobility and confidence and Rose liked that. 
“Sorry but does no one else wonder who this is” asked Will. She looked round at him and took his hand hoping it would calm him down or remind him that she was there, and he had to behave.
“I am prince of Arthur of Camelot” said Arthur calmly.
“And I am prince Will of Ealdor and this is princess Rose of Ealdor” said Will he did a fake bow and did an over top gesture at Rose. Rose couldn’t help snigger at that comment. Merlin gave a look and she stopped smiling at Will’s comment.
“Don’t be rude he saved Mathew and your sister” said Hunnith.
“It’s alright, Hunnith it’s his village, what would you do?” said Arthur
“Give him what he wants, I am more than capable of looking after my sister” said Will.
“No way, Rose was ill she needs food, so the ones of us that don’t starve to death, deal with him next year” snapped Hunnith.

Will glared at her and at then at Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes she wasn’t deaf she was around them and they were talking about her like she wasn’t there, and it was doing her head in.
“The best way to deal with these people is to stand up to them” said Arthur.
“You have signed our death warrant, if you want to act the hero use your own men not us” said Will angrily at that he stormed off taking Rose with him. The movement nearly made her loose balance slightly, but she managed to keep in step with him.
“Will” called Merlin after him. Rose sat down at the table while Will paced towards their father’s old uniform.

Rose got up as Merlin came in, she gave a smile before walking out leaving Merlin to talk to Will. She went to the wooded area for some time alone and to collect some wood for the fire she collected up some wood and she noticed a presence behind her she turned around to see Morgana. Rose gave her a polite smile and curtsied.
“My lady” said Rose. There it was again a connection between the two like she had known this woman all her life. She had no idea where it was coming from it felt deep within her magic. Rose had had magic for as long as she had remembered no one knew except Will, Merlin and Hunnith.
“No need to do that, call me Morgana” said Morgana.
“Morgana” said Rose she smiled and looked at Morgana more. Had they met before or was this just a magic connection.
“Is it just you and Will?” asked Morgana.
“Yeah, my mother died in childbirth to me and my father died in Cenred’s army about a year ago” said Rose.

She never found out what happened to her father when her and Will had gone to ask Cenred but he ended up scaring Rose into accidental magic, it wasn’t too bad as magic wasn’t illegal in Cenred’s kingdom all she got was a night in the dungeon. This had made Will angry and distrustful of royalty.
“You and Will must be pretty close” said Morgana.
“Yeah he bought me up with Hunnith’s help, plus the village helped, what about you, the kings ward” said Rose. She realised then that her question might be too blunt, so she was about to apologise but Morgana answered.
“My dad died in battle when I was young, he begged for aid and more troops but not helped, so Uther took me in” said Morgana she teared up slightly. Rose rubbed her arm and Morgana gave her a weak smile. Talking to her felt so relaxed and calm.
“Come on, I’ll make you a cup of tea” said Rose. Morgana nodded before linking her arm and they walked back into the village and to Rose’s house.

The next day everyone woke up in their houses to a normal morning. Rose got up before everyone else in the house. She was housing Morgana and Gwen and Hunnith was housing Arthur and Merlin.  Rose made a cup of tea and walked out of the house and smelled the fresh air. It smelt amazing she had spent so long in the house being ill and being accused of sorcery by a crazy witch finder she had missed being able to live normally. She walked around the village checking in on the pigs and the livestock, making sure everything was okay. She walked back to her house and saw that Merlin was moving about the house. She walked over and knocked on the door.

Merlin opened the door and let her in smiling. Morgana and Gwen were there and Hunnith was cleaning up after breakfast Rose went over and helped. Arthur was being helped into a coat by Merlin. Rose scoffed and looked over.
“Have you not learnt to dress yourself,” said Morgana. Rose sniggered before her stomach growled noisily. Hunnith frog marched her towards the door.
“Go back to your house and eat, then you can see Merlin” said Hunnith.

Rose huffed and went to her house to find Will making breakfast. Rose sat at the table. Will finished off and gave her the bowl before sitting opposite her.
“Good to see you’re feeling better, how are the new neighbours” said Will.
“One is a prat that can’t dress himself we got the good lodgers,” said Rose. Will laughed and nodded giving her a warm smile. His face then became serious.
“Merlin could end this so easily; he hasn’t even told Arthur about his magic, but he trusts him” said Will.
“Thing is though Arthur is the son of Uther, the man that would burn Merlin at the stake in an instant” said Rose. She finished up for her breakfast and got up.

Will also got up and they left the house they watched as Arthur trained the men. Merlin was walking into the woods Will followed him while Rose went over to the Arthur training the men. One of the men was fighting against himself so Rose got out her sword and practised with that guy.
“One, two, three, four and One, two, three, Rose get out the battle” said Arthur. Rose shook her head if he was wanting her to move, he would have to make her. She carried on and everyone was told to rest. She looked around Merlin and Will were still in the woods, so she walked across to Arthur who was talking with Gwen or Morgana.
“I think the women should be allowed to fight” said Gwen.
“I agree” said Rose. Arthur turned around to look at her and gave her a look.
“It’s too dangerous” said Arthur. Rose scoffed and gave him one of her incredulous glares.
“There are 30 to 40 men in Kanen’s gang, there are 25 men able to fight in this village plus you and Merlin, so 27 still outnumbered, I do believe in you but you need to think about your numbers a battle is done better on an equal or more on our side” said Rose. Arthur looked at her and gave her a smile before tapping her on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get there, men on your feet,” said Arthur. Rose got ready to join in the training again but was given a look by Arthur, so she sighed loudly and went over to Morgana and Gwen to help make weapons.

The next day Arthur had gathered all men into the main village house. Rose was also in attendance because she was curious if any of her words yesterday made any difference. Arthur stood in front of them in regular clothes but still he oozed nobility and he had an element of him that made Rose automatically trust him.
“We aren’t going to be able to defend Ealdor with sword and sinew alone, we need a plan, we need to find a way of limiting their mobility,” said Arthur.
“So, drawing them into a trap,” said Rose.
“Yes Rose, well done,” said Arthur.

Rose didn’t like that tone she was 9 not 4. She didn’t need to be patronised by some prince. She was distracted and so were the whole room by a sudden scream Rose ran straight outside to see Mathew was laid across the horse, he had an arrow in his back and looked dead.
“Get him down from there,” said Arthur. Rose was the first one to him, but she had no chance of pull him down, but it didn’t stop her from trying she couldn’t help the tears that had pricked her eyes she had so much respect for Mathew, he had shown her nothing but kindness. She stepped back and let the men around her pull him down she gasped slightly when she noticed his eye were open. He had been shot in the back with a note attached.

Rose went over and shut his eyes before stepping back attempting to stop the tears from flowing. Her hand was grabbed, and she was pulled into Wills arms in a hug. She was accepting off the hug and hugged back Will moved forward with her.
“What does it say” asked Merlin he sounded equally upset and shocked by the whole thing.
“It says make the most of this day, it will be your last” said Arthur. Rose was let go and Rose ran to Hunnith’s house one as it was closest and two it was like a second home, she felt comfortable there. She paced a bit in completed anger and sadness. She could hear Will was arguing with Arthur, but she really couldn’t be dealing with all this. Mathew was dead and she made a promise to herself then she would do anything in her power to beat Kanen tomorrow.

She noticed a book poking out of Merlin’s bag she picked it up and started to read. It was a book of spells. She read the book in the corner quietly eating some fruit until she could hear Arthur calling everyone to the village house. She put the book back safe and walked towards the village house it was dark. Rose went into the house and everyone was circled around the fire and looking at Arthur. She went and stood with Will and took his hand.
“Tomorrow morning, the women and children, should gather what belonging and go into the woods” said Arthur.
“I am not going anywhere” said Gwen moving forward.

Rose loved the way she was so brave she was a maid and she was standing up to a prince.
“I know you want to help but the women can’t stay here, it’s too dangerous” said Arthur. Rose moved forwards as well ready to fight her case.
“Don’t the women and children deserve to fight for lives as much as the men do” said Rose.
“None of you know how to fight and the battlefield is no place for children” said Arthur.
“The more of us there are, the better chance we stand” said Gwen. Rose nodded at her and Arthur looked around the room at the women nodding their agreement.
“This is your home, if you want to fight to defend it, that’s your choice, sorry Rose I won’t allow the children to fight, I’d be honoured to stand alongside you women” said Arthur. Rose scoffed and walked out the village hall and to Hunnith’s house she took the book and took it to her own house and looked through the book. Looking for any spell that can help them for tomorrow. She was good with a sword anyway she had taught herself how to fight after the news broke that her father had died, she wanted to always be prepared, she was strong for her age and she  height, but she just needed to prove that. She made herself a little tent of blankets under the table. Will knew that was Rose’s way of dealing with stuff and knew to leave her when she was under a table.

The next morning, she was packed up and ready to go into the woods with the other children, Will and some of the women that didn’t want to fight. Rose had her own idea though once they had got into the woods, she was going to do a slip and run back to the village and save everyone. They got into the woods quickly and Will insisted they had to go further into the trees once they were in the trees and they set up a camp. Rose acted on her plan.
“Will, I’m just going to the toilet” said Rose. Will nodded and gave her a smile.
“Don’t go too far” said Will.

Rose nodded and went off to the side until she was out of sight at that she ran around the camp and then ran to Ealdor as fast as she could she got back to Ealdor to see the battle was in full swing. She got her sword and ran into the battle tackling and killing opponents as she went on. She noticed Morgana had someone coming up behind her she ran forward and caught the blow with her sword her size helped as the guy got startled, she used the hesitation to her advantage and kicked him in the gut. He fell and Rose knocked him out with the hilt of her sword. Morgana looked at her with a stunned expression.
“Thank you” said Morgana.
“Would love to stand and chat you know bandits to defeat” said Rose.

She ran over to where Hunnith was being backed up against a wall. Gwen knocked him out which she appreciated she knocked a guy that had gone for Merlin. Merlin turned around to face her in shock.
“What are you doing here” asked Merlin.
“Fighting for my right to survive” said Rose. They both heard a crash behind her, and they turned around at the same time to see Will was hitting a guy on the ground with an axe.
“I didn’t think you were coming” said Merlin smiling.
“Neither did I, I did however have to get my runaway sister” said Will laughing.

Rose looked around they were outnumbered, and they were close to losing the battle. She noticed that Will and Merlin had also stopped as well.
“There’s too many of them” said Will.
“Not for us, there isn’t” said Merlin and Rose joining hands it was like they had thought up the same spell at the same time. They incanted the same spell and the wind started to get higher and higher. Making the bandits run away and the horses to panic. Rose felt the magic tingle in her fingers as hers and Merlin’s magic merged.

 The bandits that were left ran away and the ladies chased after them and everyone cheered Rose hugged Will and then hugged Merlin.
“Pendragon!” shouted Kanen. Arthur got his sword ready and they both started to fight. Arthur soon had the upper hand and killed him. He then walked towards Rose, Will and Merlin looking angry and betrayed with an element of fear.
“Who did that” said Arthur.
“What” said Merlin looking innocently at the group around him.
“Wind like that doesn’t appear out from nowhere, I know magic when I see it, one of you made that happen” accused Arthur. Glaring at the three of them.
“Arthur...” said Merlin before he could continue.

Will moved forward suddenly pushing Arthur out the way quickly.
“Look out” screamed Will. Kanen was still alive and had fired a cross bow at Arthur but now it had hit Will with a sickening crack into his chest. Rose heart stopped and she ran forward screaming Will’s name at the same time as Merlin. Merlin caught him as he fell backwards. Arthur approached looked shocked.
“You saved my life” said Arthur. Will’s face was contorted in agony he was wincing and whimpering.
“I know I don’t know what I was thinking” gasped out Will. Rose stroked his hair back and let the tears fall.
“Come on, get him inside” said Arthur.

They took him into the Hunnith’s place and laid him out on a table. Rose took hold of Will’s hand which was getting colder.
“That’s twice, I have saved your life today, it was me I did the magic, I saw how dangerous everything was getting and my young sister was in the middle of it” said Will.
“Will don’t” said Rose.
“You’re a sorcerer” said Arthur looking shocked. Rose rubbed her thumb across Will’s hand he was holding her hand as well.
“It’s okay, what’s he going to do” said Will. He gasped out in pain then gave Arthur an amused look Rose felt his hand tighten in hers. “kill me”. 

Rose squeezed his hand and he squeezed hers as a way to tell her to keep quiet he was using his dying breaths to protect her.
“No off course not, make him comfortable” said Arthur he left the house, and everyone followed him leaving just Rose and Merlin with the dying Will.
“I told you he would get me killed” said Will. Rose tears flowed faster then.
“You’re not going to die” said Merlin he bent over Will holding his head to make him feel comfortable.

The injury was likely to be fatal and that thought broke Rose’s heart, she couldn’t lose Will he was her brother, her best friend, the man that had raised her from a young age.
“Let me heal you” said Rose desperately she couldn’t let him die.
“No, it’s okay, you’ll be okay” said Will he squeezed her hand.
“Please” sobbed Rose.
“Will you ever do as your told” grimaced Will. He turned to Merlin and smiled at him “please, promise me something”
“Anything” said Merlin.
“Take Rose with you, I want her to learn to control her magic like you do” said Will. Merlin nodded and a tear fell down his face. He let go of Rose “Rose leave I don’t want you to see this”.

Rose nodded and kissed his head before leaving the house. She stood outside the house and waited. A hand touched her shoulder she turned around and saw it was Morgana she was pulled into the older women’s arm into a hug and Rose hugged back. Crying into her shoulder. Morgana walked them away from the house and took them into Rose’s house. They sat on the bench and Rose just cried into Morgana shoulder while morgana held her to her stroking her hair.

After a few minutes Rose started to calm down and got up and started to pack her stuff up, she didn’t own a lot, but she couldn’t forget anything in case it was a while until she returned.
“What you are doing?” asked Morgana. Hunnith came in and stood in the doorway.
“I am packing my stuff up, Will asked Merlin to take me to Camelot” said Rose.
“Yeah Merlin just told me that, however there is a problem” said Hunnith. Rose looked up to look at her she looked worried and upset.
“Which is?” asked Rose.
“Rose your 9, you can’t just enter a new place without a guardian” said Hunnith. Rose nodded and thinking about it, she hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“What about Merlin’s guardian” asked Rose.
“No, Gaius has his work cut out with Merlin, anyway he only has one bedroom” said Hunnith. Rose raised her eyebrows.
“I’ll be her guardian” said Morgana. Rose and Hunnith gave her a shocked look.
“You would really do that” said Rose. Morgana nodded and Rose hugged her again before continuing to pack up her clothes.

Will’s body was removed from Hunnith house quickly after he died, he was put on a stack of logs and set on fire. Rose stood next to Merlin with her arm wrapped round waist his arm round her shoulder. The tears were pricking her eyes as she watched her brother burn. Arthur came from behind.
“I’m sorry, I know he was a good friend and good brother to you,” said Arthur.
“He still is,” said Merlin.
“He’s a sorcerer that’s what you wanted to tell me isn’t it,” said Arthur.
“Yes” said Merlin.
“You know how much magic can cause harm; you shouldn’t have kept it from me” said Arthur.

Rose turned around and glared at him. Anger, grief and hurt were running through her veins.
“Sorry Arthur but I don’t see how it was any of your business we are in Cenred’s kingdom magic isn’t illegal here just frowned upon, he saved the day that wasn’t evil, he did it to save everyone” shouted Rose. She moved herself off Merlin and moved closer to Arthur “Magic isn’t evil it can be a force for good” Morgana came over and wrapped her arm around Rose walking her towards Gwen and away from Arthur. Rose clung onto Morgana like her life depended on it feeling all the loss and anger go over her. She calmed down and went over to Hunnith. She gave her a big hug she was going to miss the women that had helped bring her up. She made a mental note to always come and visit. She had a bond with Hunnith like no other. Hunnith pulled away and held her hands.
“Stay safe, don’t let anyone know of your gifts, give this to Gaius please when you are alone with him, but tell him not to read it at night" said Hunnith. Rose nodded and hugged her again before going across to her new guardian.

The journey to Camelot was a long one it took a day and a half to get there which included an overnight stay. Rose was on a horse with Morgana she was behind her holding on for dear life because she had rarely been on a horse before. They went into the city and Rose looked around in excitement everything was big and exciting. The place looked amazing they got to the citadel and everyone got off their horse Rose had been struggling with that bit so stayed put on the horse even after Morgana was off it. Merlin came over and took her hands and put them on his shoulder before lifting her down and putting her on her feet.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“Your welcome” said Merlin.

Morgana came over and took her hand and lead her to a room. She guessed this was the throne room because obviously it had a throne in this room was a man wearing a crown, an old man in long robes and a few knights.
“My lord” said Morgana.
“Hello Morgana, nice to see you back, who is the child” asked the man.
“Uther, this is Rose, an orphan from Ealdor, her whole family has died and I have taken over guardianship for her if that is okay with you, I was wondering if I can get her a bed in my anti chamber, completely based on her age” said Morgana. The old man was giving her look of realisation and looked slightly alarmed.
“Off course she can” said Uther. He turned to face the old man “Gaius” he came forward she recognised his name; he was Merlin’s guardian.
“Yes my lord” said Gaius politely.
“Will you take on her schooling” asked Uther. Gaius nodded and Uther smiled “So its settled, Gaius could you take her with you for a while, so I can discuss something with Morgana”.

Gaius nodded and he linked arms with Rose and took her out the room. They walked to Gaius’s chamber and Rose down on a bench. Gaius looked at her with a puzzled expression he walked over to her and knocked over a cup of water. Rose caught the cup with magic and slid it back on to the table.
“Very impressive you are very similar to Merlin; magic seems to be an instinct rather than taught” said Gaius.

He raised his eyebrows “Your Will’s sister” he carried on pacing and muttering to himself. 
“Yeah he died, hmm Gaius” said Rose. He came over to her and sat opposite her giving her a smile.
“Yes, young one” said Gaius he had a very kind voice it must be years of being a physician. 
“Hunnith asked me to give you this, saying don’t read it until night-time or something like that, I got the impression she wanted you to read it alone” said Rose. Gaius nodded at her and took the letter and put it in his desk.
“So, I don’t think I have to tell you that any spells will get you executed” said Gaius. Rose nodded and gave him a smile.
“No, I know to be careful, so when does my schooling start, will you teach me to control my magic” said Rose. She was so excited she was going to learn how to control her magic and she couldn’t wait to get started.
“Your schooling will start in a few days, let you get used to being in Camelot, I will teach you what I can, and Merlin will help me here and there” said Gaius.

Rose smiled and nodded then she zoned out as she heard a voice a very old and ancient voice called her name in her head.
“Can I go for a walk?” asked Rose. Gaius looked at her and nodded before picking a book off the bench and reading. Rose left the room and was very confused what was up with that Gaius guy why was he so weird about her. She was now the lady Morgana’s ward did this make her a lady or still just same old Rose.

She followed the voice down into the dungeons and then a set of stairs into a cave she walked down them feeling relaxed well if this voice was planning on killing her it would sound more sinister but as the voice seemed normal it was fine. She entered the cave and went further into it. A dragon came flying down from a ledge above Rose stared at it awe.
“Hello, I’m Rose, it is a pleasure to meet you, what’s your name?” said Rose remembering that her manners were important even when talking to a dragon.
“I know who you are, my name is Kilghara, you surprise me young one” said the dragon.
“Why do I surprise you” said Rose.
“You have such a big destiny, yet you are young, no one has asked me my name in over 20 years” said Kilghara.
“What is my destiny” asked Rose.

Kilghara flew closer to her and landed on a rock near her.
“Your destiny is to protect the once and future queen by bridging the gap between the dark and the light, the future queen faces many threats from friends and foe alike, she will need you to protect her” said Kilghara.
“Who is the once and future queen” said rose.
“You will find out soon enough but know it won’t be who expect it to be” said Kilghara. His chains rattled slightly, and Rose noticed and gave the dragon a shocked look. Forgetting what she was about to say.
“How do I free you” asked Rose passionately a great and noble dragon should not be locked up in a cave like a common criminal, he should be free. Kilghara was taken aback by that question that he nearly fell off his perch.
“It is nothing for you to worry about I already have an arrangement with Merlin, your kin” said Kilghara.
“My what?” asked Rose. Kilghara looked even more perplexed than before he looked at Rose with a stare. Rose was wondering if he was reading her mind.
“Kin as you both have magic; he is a warlock” said Kilghara Rose was about to speak again “Be off with you or the adults will wonder where you are”. Rose left the cave her head still reeling with all the new information.

It soon became night-time in Camelot, and everyone was asleep except for the over-night patrol and Gaius who was opening his letter from Hunnith.

Dear Gaius,

I know you may have guessed it my Rose is now also in Camelot, she is tough and strong, and she too has magical gifts like her brother, and she is too tall like her brother soon she’ll tower over everyone. Please keep her safe and guide her like you have Merlin. I didn’t want to put another one of my children on you so let I Morgana take guardianship. Please do not tell them they are brother and sister yet. I am waiting for the best time and while Rose is grieving for the brother, she thought she had, now is not the time. Please keep her safe she struggles to control her magic when upset.

Hunnith

The end

Chapter Text

Rose had been in Camelot for a few weeks and felt like she was slowly settling into a life in Camelot, she was the lady Morgana’s ward, and she would be introduced as the lady Rose. She still found it weird when people would call my lady. She wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to it. She had gone from a girl sleeping on a wooden bed in a small village to sleeping in a four-poster bed in the Lady Morgana’s anti chamber. It felt so bizarre, and it was like a weird dream she was going to wake up from at any moment. She took a while to get used to having people do things for her. She had everyone shocked when she poured out her own drink at dinner one time. She had tried to sneak into knight’s training but most the knights freaked out so Arthur comprised and would give her private lessons in sword skill and combat.  She wasn’t allowed to go on hunting trips yet.

Everyone was gathered around in the council chambers waiting for the hunting party to come back from their hunting trip. Arthur came in with Merlin carrying a unicorn horn on a pillow, Rose’s heart dropped into her stomach causing her breath to catch in her throat. That was very cursed to kill a unicorn it was meant to cause doom. Gaius looked equally upset and concerned.
“A unicorn horn to show off in the halls of Camelot” said Arthur happily how could he so calm. He had killed a unicorn and a unicorn are magical creatures pure of heart. She had learnt that recently in one of Gaius’s books. She really enjoyed her lessons with Gaius she would learn about history, medical work and how to behave as a ward to the lady Morgana. Rose looked sadly at the unicorn horn it must have been so beautiful and pure.
“What’s the matter Gaius” asked Uther. Gaius stepped forward.
“Unicorns are rare and mythical creatures, there are legends that says the bad fortune will come to anyone that slays them” said Gaius. Rose nodded slightly and saw it then a man in white robes in the doorway he was there and stared right at her. He then disappeared; Rose looked around noticed everyone was starting to leave the room.

Rose got up and went after Gaius and Merlin she caught up with them and linked Merlin’s arm. They walked across the square Merlin was tense, so Rose squeezed his arm.
“Why would he kill a unicorn? Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is” said Rose.
“It wasn’t just that the unicorn looked so innocent and beautiful” said Merlin. Rose gave Merlin a look and Gaius was watching them both with interest.
“I get hunting to eat but he doesn’t eat unicorns” said Rose angrily. Merlin nodded at her in agreement.
“He’s a hunter, it’s in his blood, whereas you two are something completely different” said Gaius.
“It was so prettiest thing I have ever seen I so wished you two had seen it” said Merlin.
“Yeah it’s a rare sight, there aren’t many left” said Gaius.
“Poor unicorn” said Rose.
“MERLIN!!!!” called Arthur’s voice from somewhere nearby Merlin and Rose rolled their eyes at the exact same time. Merlin gave them a grin before getting to work. Rose walked back to Gaius’s chambers with Gaius. She had got to know him quickly in her few weeks of being in Camelot. She loved to learn about the history of Camelot, and she loved it when Gaius would teach her to be a good member of the royal court.

Rose was in her room later she was reading her book in bed. She felt sleepy the words on the paper was becoming bleared. Her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep. She was in Camelot, but it was broken the fields were dry and the water was sand. That made her nervous the dream felt real very real not just a dream. The dream changed the whole of Camelot was falling everyone died one by one of starvation and thirst. She was in a room full off dead people that scared her she screamed and woke up with a scream bolting upright in bed. She panted and shut her eyes. She was startled by a pair of arms wrapping round her. She opened her eyes to see Morgana she hugged back. Clinging on to Morgana for dear life. Her heart racing.
“It’s okay it was only a dream” said Morgana stroking her hair back.
“It felt real” said Rose. She looked out the window to see it was light now. Morgana moved back and took her hand. Taking her to the table. She poured her out half a cup of water. The jug was now empty.
“Here, drink this” said Morgana.

She drank it quickly the water seemed to help her calm down. Gwen bought them their breakfast and Rose couldn’t get her dream out of her head. It felt like a vision rather than a dream, she hadn’t had a vision in a while, but she knew the difference sometimes Rose could see into the future but not often. Rose touched her head she had a bit of a headache. She was also wanting an excuse to see Merlin.
“Are you okay if I go to get a headache draft from Gaius?” asked Rose. Morgana nodded at her and Rose walked to Gaius’s chambers on the way there she heard mutterings about the crops all dying overnight. She got into Gaius’s chambers both Merlin and Gaius looked up when she walked in.
“I need to talk with you,” said Rose.
“What’s wrong” asked Merlin.
“I had a vision about Camelot dying from famine and drought,” said Rose.
“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream” asked Gaius. Rose shook her head and Merlin pointed at the bench for her to sit down. She did so and he put a vial in her hand.
“No, it was real, I have done it before, dreamed about something that came to pass, we have to stop this,” said Rose. She held up the vial to her face eying it with suspicion.
“Drink it, it’s a headache draft, it’ll also help your throat,” said Merlin. She shot the drink down in one swig and felt a lot better. She had a rush of relief her head felt better, and her throat also seemed better. She didn’t realise it was hurting until it was gone.
“Thank you, the crops have died but we still have water,” said Merlin.

As the day went on the news got worse not only did all the eatable plants died and then the water turned to sand.  She ended up sat in Merlin’s room with Merlin the next morning sending magic at a bucket of sand between them.
“It’s the unicorn curse isn’t it?” asked Rose.
“Looks like it” said Merlin. Rose rubbed her head sadly as she sent another jet of magic towards the sand bucket the door opened, and Rose jumped Gaius was giving them a look.
“We were just” said Rose. Gaius gave her a kind smile and sat down with them.
“I was hoping you were trying to get us more water, your magic combined is what we need right now” said Gaius. Rose sighed and laid back against the wall feeling defeated.
“It’s not working” said Rose tears annoyingly pricking her eyes.
“It’s alright, I have heard you aren’t great with going without food so Hunnith suggested I made you a draft that will still give you the nutrients you need” said Gaius. Rose looked at Gaius to Merlin since when was Hunnith in contact with Gaius about her surely it should be Merlin.
“Thank you, I bet she is worried about Merlin to” said Rose.
“No not particularly she is worried about it affecting your recovery” said Gaius. Merlin and Rose looked at each other with a confused look.

Later, that day Rose and Merlin were in Arthur’s chambers they were catching a rat Merlin was walking around the chambers while Rose sat on Arthur’s bed. It was dark.
“So, your mother is worried about me” said Rose. Merlin nodded and gave her a smile.
“yeah but she has always treated you like her own, since you were born” said Merlin. Rose yawned and put her head against the wall “come on, bedtime Rose” Rose groaned and stood up Merlin put his hand out for her take which she did they walked outside.
“Hey” shouted a voice nearby Rose jumped and they turned to face Arthur “you do remember we are on a curfew”.
“I was hunting the rat and then taking Rose back to her chambers” said Merlin. Rose nodded she saw something out of the corner of her eye she turned to face it. It was the man from the other day she stared at him and he beckoned them to towards him. Rose grabbed Arthur’s sword from his hilt without him noticing.
“Intruder” shouted Rose and ran towards the man. It didn’t take long for the other two to chase after her they got to the dungeon. Arthur pointed for Merlin to go left as he went right. Rose followed Arthur and they walked round.
“We lost him” said Rose.
“Looking for me” said the man. Merlin put Rose behind his back and him and Arthur did a protective stance in front of her. Rose rolled her eyes the guy was an old man and looked harmless what’s the worst he could do.
“Rose go to bed” said Merlin. She rolled her eyes and went up the stairs and went to bed. She laid down in her bed and fell to sleep quickly feeling exhausted.

Rose woke up and stretched out. Morgana and Gwen came into her area of the room looking exciting. “The water is back” said Morgana. Gwen poured her out a drink and gave it Rose. Rose drank it happily the taste of water was amazing.
“I never knew water could taste so good” said Rose. They sat at the table and ate the rations before going about her day normally. She did her usual lessons in her schooling and everything seemed to be going well except for the food shortage and their impending doom this was until she was walking down the corridor towards her room. She saw the old man from the night before standing in front of her chambers, she was about to speak but he lifted his arm up and had a powerful sleeping spell thrown at her. Everything turned black.

Rose was laying on something hard and weird feeling she opened her eyes to notice she was on a beach. The old man stood over here.
“Where am I?” asked Rose.
“Labyrinth of Gedref, not to worry soon to be high priestess of the old religion, you are bait for the mighty Emerys” said the man. Rose gave him a puzzled look; she didn’t know an Emerys and what on earth did he mean soon to be high priestess. Like he had read her mind he explained “Emerys is also known as Merlin and you are destined to a high priestess, my name by the way is Anhora keeper of the unicorns”.
“Does Merlin know you have me then?” asked Rose.
“Yes” said Anhora.
“How long have I been here?” asked Rose politely.
“Since last night, you have slept well without your bad dreams” said Anhora. He knelt next
“Sorry about the unicorn, I didn’t agree with it, the poor thing didn’t deserve to die” said Rose. She didn’t know why but she had a trust for him, he was calm and gentle even though he had kidnapped her the magic that came of him wasn’t to hurt people. She sensed that about him.
“Merlin approaches, I must do something do not worry you are in no real danger” said Anhora his eyes flashed gold and she was tied up with ropes that came out of nowhere they weren’t tight.

Anhora disappeared and Rose struggled against the rope it was itchy and annoying. It wasn’t long though until Anhora was back this time with Merlin he was sat in a seat at a table. With two glasses on. Rose was sat up against a rock by the beach.
“You had no right to take Rose” said Merlin.
“I had to get you here” said Anhora. She could feel the anger coming from Merlin which surprised her slightly. It wasn’t long until they were joined by Arthur, he looked at both and rolled his eyes.
“Merlin, Rose” said Arthur. He was shocked but also looked slightly annoyed.
“I’m sorry” said Merlin.
“Let them go!” said Arthur angrily.
“Take a seat, it’s time for you test” said Anhora ignoring the demand.
“I’ll do the test if you let them go first” said Arthur.
“They are a part of the test” said Anhora. Arthur sat down and glared at them both.
“I told you stay at home, Rose you have no place in these matters” said Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes angrily at Arthur.
“I didn’t have a choice, Anhora kidnapped me because you killed a unicorn” said Rose hotly.
“In front of you are two goblets one is wine and one is poisoned, both goblets must be emptied but only one cup can be picked up, you have 3 minutes to decide if you do not do it in the time frame both get given to Rose” said Anhora. He took a sand timer and put on the table; the sand started to trickle into the bottom. Everyone on the beach went stiff except Rose, she knew she was in no real danger neither was Arthur and Merlin. She watched both men discuss it Merlin was desperate to do it, but Arthur ended up drinking the poison. Rose attempted to get up and Anhora clicked his fingers and the ropes disappeared.

Rose was dragged back to Camelot after Arthur came around and taken straight to Gaius to check her over. She sat on the bench while Gaius checked her.
“Is this really necessary, he didn’t hurt me he just used me as bait for Merlin” said Rose.
“I noticed that, did he say anything to you” asked Gaius. He sat down next to her and pulled her on to his lap wrapped his arms round her waist.
“He said I was soon to be high priestess of the old religion” said Rose. She turned around into Gaius and laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm round his shoulder. She was tired so let herself relax “What is a high priestess?”
“It is a woman of magic they are powerful, I’ll give you a book, if anyone asks why you have it say it’s to do with your schooling” said Gaius. Rose nodded and yawned “don’t fall asleep on me, I won’t be able to carry to bed”. Rose nodded and stood up Gaius then got up and gave her the book. She took the book to bed with her.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose enjoyed her time in Camelot, and she was getting used to how things happened in Camelot. She had her first birthday as a member of the royal court and Morgana had bought her everything, she guessed Rose would need as she turned 10 years old which was a lot of dresses and hairbrushes. Arthur had got her a sword which was engraved with a Rose the flower. Merlin had got her a book that was a magic book, but it was disguised as a cookbook which she loved. The night after her birthday Rose was in bed asleep having a bad dream. She was with Morgana and Uther and a man came up behind them and sliced of Uther’s head before slicing his head open.

Rose screamed and woke up it with a nasty start. She sat up quickly and nearly head-butted Morgana who was sat on her bed. She was pulled into Morgana arms and she hugged back sniffling slightly.
“It’s okay, it was just a dream” said Morgana. She got up and took Rose’s hand and pulled her over to the table she sat down, and Morgana gave her some water and sat down next to her.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“it’s what I am here for” said Morgana. There was a knock on the door. Morgana got up and answered the door. Two guards stood there.
“The king requests both your presence in the throne room” said one of the guards.
“It’s late” said Morgana looking at Rose worriedly.
“Tom the blacksmith has been arrested” said the other guards.

They both grabbed their shawls and put their shoes on before leaving the room. They followed the guards and Morgana took her hand.
“What has he been arrested for” asked Rose.
“Treason” said one of the guards. Morgana sped up and Rose was running to keep up. They got to the throne room and they entered the room. Uther and Arthur were stood around the throne.
“Treason” said Morgana. Uther looked up to look at them. Rose got her usual nervous feeling she got around Uther.
“Yes Morgana, treason he was caught red handed with an enemy of Camelot” said Uther.
“What enemy” said Morgana angrily. She admired Morgana’s bravery and her ability to stand up for herself.
“Tauren the leader of a band of renegade sorcerers sworn to bring down the king” said Arthur. Rose annoyance got bigger what did this kingdom expect after what they did to the magic users and druids in the great purge no wonder, they had people after them.
“Where is this Tauren now?” asked Rose carefully.
“They escaped” said Arthur.
“Well then how can you sure” asked Rose. She was still being cautious because she didn’t want her temper to flare because that was usual when magic would come out.
“Because Arthur saw him with his own eyes” answered Uther.
“Well even if the man is who you say he is, you can’t arrest Tom for being seen with him” said Morgana.
“We believe he was forging weapons for Tauren” said Uther.

Rose could feel the tension in the room grow as Morgana got angrier.
“Rubbish he wouldn’t do such a thing” said Morgana.
“Every man has his price” drawled Uther. Arthur pushed a lump of gold across the table.
“I found this on him” said Arthur. He looked uncomfortable like he was on Morgana’s side but was worried about saying something against Uther.
“He’s a blacksmith maybe he got paid got shoeing his horse” said Rose hotly. Uther gave her an exasperated look.
“In gold” said Uther in a patronising voice. Her anger got worse and so did her fear. She yawned and rubbed her eyes because they stung in the candlelight. 
“Maybe he did a good job” said Rose. Morgana took Rose’s hand and glared at Uther.
“You execute Gwen’s father I’ll never forgive you ever!” snapped Morgana. She stormed out taking Rose with her, Rose wasn’t complaining she loved being out of the throne room and away from the tension.

Rose woke up the next day midmorning she sat up and stretched and looked at her bed side table. Morgana had left her a note on the bed side table which read “Meet me at the stables at noon, I am going to get you over your fear of riding, Morgana” Rose smiled at the note. She knew that Morgana was trying to distract her from the situation of Gwen’s father. She got up and dressed in some casual clothes and went to the stables. Morgana was already there she was setting up the horses and had a basket on her arm.
“This one is yours; you name the horse whatever you want, it’ll help you get used to horses, climb on” said Morgana. Rose stared the horse that now belonged to her was white with huge black eyes, it had a bit of brown fur over his eyes. She gingerly approached the horse and stroked its mane.
“Patch, I am calling her Patch” said Rose.

Morgana smiled at her and took her hand and guided her to get on the horse then she got on her own horse.
“Tap gently like this with your foot” said Morgana. She kicked the horse gently and they both went into the woods. She was glad to be out of the castle and out in the open away from rules. She breathed in the air and got lost in thought. People surely couldn’t be arrested and executed for being seen with a sorcerer no matter what the circumstances did he not deserve a trail. She was putting Morgana in so much trouble what if she got found out. “Rose, Rose”. She came back to reality and realised that Morgana was trying to get her attention.
“Sorry I was in my own world” said Rose.

Morgana stopped her horse and Rose followed what Morgana did and her horse stopped. Morgana got down first and tethered her horse to a tree. Rose swung her leg round and Morgana helped her down and showed her how to tether the horse to the tree. She did this and Morgana got a blanket out her basket and laid it on the ground and they sat down on it.
“It is so nice to get out the castle” said Rose. Morgana gave her a smile and poured out some water into some goblets and gave her the water and got out some fruit and sliced meat.
“I know all this must be hard for you” said Morgana.
“Yeah it the fact Gwen could be losing her dad and its all because of magic but not all magic is evil” said Rose.
“I know magic could be a force for good, Will save our lives, if he had wanted to kill us all he could have done it” said Morgana. Rose smiled at Morgana and felt an understanding between the two of them. They sat in comfortable silence while they ate, and Rose couldn’t help but feel calm and relaxed around Morgana.
“Thank you for this, ham is my favourite” said Rose.
“Your welcome” said Morgana. Rose laid back on to the blanket and watched the clouds go over head feeling content.

The rest of the day went without too much incident Rose was in their room when the warning bell sounded it was late and she didn’t know what to do so she grabbed her sword and left her chambers. Morgana came around the corner and pulled Rose back into the chambers. Rose sat down on Morgana’s bed and Morgana sat next to her.
“When the warning bell sounds stay put where you are, you don’t go looking for the dangerous people leave it to the knights” said Morgana.
“Sorry I didn’t realise” said Rose. Morgana pulled her into a hug, and they laid back on to the bed.
“I gave Tom the key to escape” said Morgana. Rose nodded and laid her head on to Morganas shoulder.

The next day Rose was laid across Morgana’s bed reading a book about healing herbs and Morgana was writing at her desk. A scream ripped through the open window Rose shot up and ran to look. A dead man was being pulled across the courtyard she recognised it as Tom. Gwen followed behind screaming and crying her dad’s name. Morgana got up and looked angry.
“I’ll be back in a bit” said Morgana leaving the room. Rose felt so bad for Gwen who followed the cart. She felt a piece of magic in the room she followed her senses and found a stone in Morgana’s bed side table. She picked up the stone and straight away she felt a powerful magic go through her. She put the stone back in the draw and went to find Morgana. She gasped in horror when she saw Morgana being dragged to the dungeons by two guards.
“What is going on” said Rose. She felt fear and anger at seeing her guardian being treated in such a way.
“It’s alright, go to see Gaius for a bit” said Morgana. Before Rose could say something, Morgana was taken away. She marched to Arthurs chambers and knocked on the door. He would know what to do.
“Enter” said Arthur’s voice through the door. Rose entered the room and Arthur was sat at his table.
“Sire” said Rose. She curtsied and Arthur chuckled at her and pointed to the seat next to him.
“You don’t need to address me as sire, it’s just Arthur, sit how can I help,” said Arthur. Rose sat down next to him at the table.
“Morgana has got herself arrested, and I don’t know what to do,” said Rose. Arthur gave her a reassuring smile and put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner and she felt her stress and worry disapear.
“I’ll deal with it, it’s not the first time, sometimes her mouth runs off with her sometimes,” said Arthur.
“Yeah she seems to be the only person not afraid of him” said Rose.

She went to Gwen’s house to see Gwen was staring at her washing looking sad. Rose went over to her and wrapped her arms around Gwen from behind around the middle.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose. Gwen took her hands and turned around to look at Rose.
“No but I will be” said Gwen. She sighed and they both started to take the washing down from the line. Suddenly a man came out of nowhere and pounced on Gwen cover her mouth.
“Oi let her go now” said Rose. She then added into his head it was a long shot, but she took it “as soon to be high priestess I command you let her go”. He must have heard the message in his head because he let go of Gwen and stared at Rose.
“Serving girl leave us” said the man. Gwen ran away from the situation and Rose went into Gwen’s house the man followed her.
“I take it your name is Tauren” said Rose.
“You are correct” said Tauren.
“I have what you seek, I will bring it to the darkling woods at night fall” said Rose. Tauren bowed to her and Rose shook her head “Don’t bow”. Tauren nodded and in a flash of grey smoke he was gone. Rose could not believe this was happening. There was never a dull moment in Camelot. She walked to her chambers and walked into the room and got the stone from the bag and closed her eyes. Gold the last think the stone had done was gold. Interesting it was to do with alchemy. She studied the stone for the rest of the day until the evening when Morgana came back looking rough but okay.

They chatted for a bit before Morgana went to sleep. Rose got the stone out the drawer and snuck out of the room. She walked down the corridor and felt a hand on her shoulder she jumped and turned around it was Morgana. Rose looked at Morgana she looked between annoyed and impressed.
“I can explain, Gwen was threatened by Tauren and Tauren demanded for a stone so me not wanting Gwen to get into trouble told him I would bring him the stone” said Rose quickly. Morgana gave her a long stare before nodding.
“Okay I am coming with you” said Morgana. They snuck out the castle and into the woods on the outside of Camelot. They went into the darkling woods. They were surrounded by Tauren’s men.
“She doesn’t know I have magic” said Rose into Tauren’s head quickly. He gave her a quick and subtle nod.
“I only asked for your ward” said Tauren. Morgana moved Rose so she was behind her back.
“What’s your fixation with a 10-year-old” said Morgana. Sounding defensive and looking ready to fight if necessary.
“She is around the same age my son and daughter were when Uther had them killed” said Tauren. He sighed and looked at them both sadly “we were a peaceful people”.
“I can help you; I will get close to him for you” said Morgana.
“You’re his friend, how do I know this isn’t a trap” said Tauren.
“Would Uther do this to his friends, I don’t believe magic is completely bad” said Morgana she showed Tauren her wrists which were red and raw. Rose’s jaw dropped Morgana was going to defend magic and sorcery! She couldn’t believe it. She zoned out and Tauren and Morgana spoke to each other. Maybe things were looking up after all. Wait no killing Uther was surely making them as bad as he was. She made mental note to go see Kilghara.

Rose and Morgana went back to the castle and both slumped on to Morgana’s bed both falling to sleep straight away. Rose got up early the next morning Morgana was still asleep, so Rose got up without disturbing her and left the chambers. She went to Kilghara’s cave and he came down to meet her on his usual rock.
“Good morning, sorry to disturb you so early in the morning. did you sleep well?” said Rose.
“I did thank you, how can I help” said Kilghara. Rose told Kilghara everything about the last day or so and explained what had happened in Camelot.
“So now Morgana is actively trying to get the king killed” said Rose.
“That bothers you, the death of a man that would see you hanged or worse burnt at the stake, I would do nothing” said Kilghara.

Rose gave him a taken aback look. She understood why he would be angry towards Uther having killed all magic user, the other dragons and left him to live the rest of his life locked up in a cave alone and isolated. However, she could think about rationally as she hadn’t the same bitterness and anger towards the king as he did yet. 
“Yes and no, I feel like we are no better than him if we kill him” said Rose. Merlin came running into the cave and raised his eyebrows when he saw Rose.
“Young Warlock, what is it you come to ask me?” asked Kilghara. Rose went over to Merlin.
“I need your help” said Merlin.
“Will you heed my word this time” said Kilghara.
“The sorcerer Tauren is plotting to kill the king, he’s made an ally of Morgana, I don’t know what to do” said Merlin.
“How do you know” said Rose.
“I followed you” said Merlin.
“I was only trying to help Gwen; she was being threatened and Morgana insisted on coming with me” said Rose.
“What should we do” asked Merlin.
“Do… nothing” said Kilghara.

Rose looked at the dragon and gave him a small sympathetic smile. Merlin had the same reaction she first had of shock however he didn’t have a realisation she did.
“What?” said Merlin.
“Do you not want him dead he murders your kind for just existing, it is Uther that murders the innocent” said Kilghara
“That shouldn’t mean we just kill him or let him be killed” said Rose.
“With Uther alive magic cannot return to the land, only if Uther dies will you be free, let Uther’s reign end, let Arthur’s rein begin, with Arthur king he can seek out the woman he loves, Fulfil your destiny” said Kilghara. He began to fly upwards.
“Wait, since when has my destiny included murder” shouted Merlin. Kilghara flew out of sight. Rose turned to look at Merlin he looked shaken. Rose held her hand out and he took it and they walked to his chambers. He sat down on the bench and pulled Rose on to his lap and put his head in to her shoulder Rose hugged him and he hugged back.

Later, that day Rose was getting her horse ready she was going on a ride with Morgana and Uther to Morgana’s father’s grave. She got on to Patch and patted her mane. Morgana and Uther approached her on their horse and a few guards were with them.
“Well done, you did a great job” said Morgana taking her hand and giving her hand a squeeze. They started their journey to Morgana’s grave. Rose could sense they were being followed she heard a blast she turned around but didn’t see anything. She looked ahead and noticed that Uther and Morgana were further ahead. She kicked her horse slightly and caught up with them. They got to Morgana’s father’s grave. Morgana and Uther got of their horses as Rose tentatively turned on her horse to side saddle Uther approached and helped her off the horse.
“It feels like not long since I was doing this for you” said Uther to Morgana.

Rose smiled and linked her arm with Morgana’s arm, and they walked towards the pile of stones that was the grave. Uther and Morgana knelt in front of the grave. Rose stayed stood unsure with what to do or where to put herself. “Come sit with us” said Morgana patting the grass next to her. Rose sat down and wrapped her arm around Morgana’s waist.
“Your father was a great man, since you have been in my care you fought against me and yet you have been the beat of my heart, you must feel that” said Uther. He seemed so kind not the monster he was meant to be.
“Yeah, my ward is like a daughter to me already, I don’t have many memories of my father, they are all gone, I was only ten” said Morgana.
“I don’t have many memories either, if I think carefully, I remember long black hair and brown eyes” said Rose.
“You challenge me as friend would, from this day forward I promise to quarrel with you less” said Uther.
“You clapped me in irons” said Morgana.
“Sometimes my temper blinds me, I have a lot of regrets” said Uther. Rose and Morgana looked at each other in alarm.
“You regret killing Tom” said Rose
“Yes” said Uther. Before he could continue speaking Morgana screamed Rose and Uther looked up to see Tauren standing over him with a sword. Uther pushed himself of the floor and began to fight back against Tauren. Uther was disarmed so Morgana ran forward and stabbed Tauren in the back before helping up Uther. Rose came over Uther pulled them both into a hug.

Rose got back to the castle sometime later and went straight to Gaius and Merlin’s chamber. She let herself in and hugged Merlin.
“We did it” said Rose squeezing him tighter round the middle he made a mock gasp noises and the started laughing.
“Yeah we did, we are a good team us two” said Merlin. Rose smiled and stepped away from him letting him breathe.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose was asleep her head was resting on a book; she had fallen asleep in Morgana’s bed the night before. The book was about the old religion and its history. Gaius had told her she could read it openly and say it was to do with her schooling and how she was learning the wrongs of the old religion but really, she read the book and learnt about the old religion. She was dreaming about Arthur. He laid injured in a bed with a wound on his shoulder Merlin was crying over him, then the dream changed to Hunnith laying on the floor her skin blotchy looking close to death and the dream changed again to Kilghara screaming in anguish, the dream then had the questing beast swooping down.

Rose felt the fear jolt through her she was being shaken and a voice was telling her wake up. She screamed and came back to consciousness in a cold sweat. Morgana was doing the same panting hard Gwen pulled them both into a hug. Arthur he was in danger all her dreams like that had come to pass. The day before Arthur and Merlin and a few knights had been on a hunt and had been attacked by a questing beast and had only just got away. Arthur was being sent to kill the questing beast that exact morning. The questing beast was a creature that hadn’t been since the beginning of the great purge and around the death of Arthur’s mother Ygraine. Rose got up and ran off not caring she was bare foot and wearing her night dress. She needed to stop this she didn’t need to look around to realise that Morgana was running after her.

They got outside and saw that Arthur hadn’t left yet; they couldn’t go they were in mortal danger.
“Arthur” called Rose and Morgana together getting his attention. They ran down the steps.
“Morgana, Rose what are you doing” asked Arthur. Rose’s heart was beating fast, but her fear was too high she struggled to calm herself. She was as hysterical and was as upset as Morgana.
“You cannot face this” cried Rose.
“It is too dangerous” cried Morgana. Arthur looked increasingly concerned for them and had caught Morgana’s arms trying to calm her down. Merlin had taken Rose’s hand, but she pulled her hand away. Her magic was rising with her fear.
“Morgana take Rose back to bed, there is nothing for you to worry about” said Arthur.
“We have seen terrible things; you are in grave danger Arthur grave danger” said Rose.
“They have both probably had a bad dream, I will take them to Gaius” said Merlin. Before Rose could complain she had been hit with a sleeping spell and everything went black.

Rose woke up feeling relaxed she wondered where she was until she looked around, she was in her room she could hear screaming and crying she stood up and ran to the window. Morgana was already there. Arthur was being carried by Uther, Uther dropped to his knees and a group of knights carried him into the castle. Morgana pulled Rose to her. Rose felt her heart jump to her throat she was so annoyed now and hurt Merlin had not taken her seriously and used a sleeping spell to knock her out.
“Our dream came to pass” said Morgana.
“I need something from Gaius” said Rose.

She moved away from Morgana and ran to Gaius’s chambers. Gaius looked up from his desk and opened his arm and she ran into them.
“I had a vision this was going to happen” said Rose into Gaius’s shoulder.
“I know, Merlin’s magic won’t work against it” said Gaius. She back away and sat down. She shut her eyes and thought about it. The questing beast it must be an omen of death, she then had a new thought a new bit of information come into her brain like it had been put in there at random she felt a faint magic bond with another person, she had never felt that before it was like her magic had tethered to someone wait she was tethered to two people. The isle of the blessed the source of magic they had go there to save Arthur, but it was dangerous.

Merlin came in and started to pack some food. Rose gave him an annoyed look. Her annoyance coming out.
“I warned you, I told him not to go and you just knock me out with a sleeping spell” said Rose. Merlin looked at her and then carried on packing.
“You were about to reveal your magic I can’t just stand there and let that happen, I promised Will I would protect you with my life” said Merlin.
“What are you doing” said Gaius.
“I am going to the isle of the blessed” said Merlin.

Rose’s heart jumped to her throat it must be him he must be one of the magical links to her. He had to be.
“No” said Rose and Gaius again. Merlin gave them a look.
“You know of it” said Merlin. He looked between them with a very confused look.
“Yes, I am soon to be high priestess of the old religion I have to do research and Gaius did use to be court sorcerer of course he knows of the isle of blessed” said Rose. She was surprised how much he under-estimated her still.

It would take time for him to believe in her as much as she believed in him, but they would get there.
“The questing beast chose Arthur therefor the old religion has decided his fate” said Gaius.
“He still has a destiny to fulfil its not over yet for them, however Merlin they will take a life, they have to do it otherwise the force of nature will be out of balance” said Rose. She thought back to her dream and gasped. Merlin was going to go to the isle of the blessed, but it was going to be Hunnith that was going to get it not Merlin. She gasped and ran to Kilghara’s cave quickly. She entered the cave and got her breath back.
“Young one, breathe, what troubles you” said Kilghara.
“Arthur is near to death; Merlin is going to the isle of blessed to bargain his life, but I know for a fact he won’t be taken but they are going to take Hunnith instead” said Rose.
“He said he would take any price to save Arthur” said Kilghara.
“Hunnith was so kind to me and now she is going to die, for the destiny of a king not in her kingdom” said Rose.

She felt tears prick her eyes as she thought of Hunnith all covered in sores and close to death. Sometimes being a seer is a burden.
“Sit, it will work out, I need to talk to you about your magic” said Kilghara. Rose sat down letting Kilghara’s calm presence relax her completely “I have noticed a magical growth in you, you are becoming more ready for when you will be high priestess, you have a magical link with two magic users another high priestess like yourself and Merlin, at the moment the connections are weak but once you are high priestess you will have a stronger connection, you will feel unsteady on your feet for a while it’s natural as your magic slowly grows”.

Rose left the cave sometime later and it was early morning. Rose went to a balcony overlooking the city and the entrance and sat down. She watched Merlin leave and vowed to stay there until he got back, she didn’t care it would probably take a day or more she needed to be sure he was safe from harm.

She waited and waited until after nightfall and it wasn’t until sunrise she was disturbed from her staring at the entrance to the citadel. She was getting a bit cold and pin pricks began to pop up on her arms. A warm cloak was wrapped around her she jumped and looked up.
“Young one, there you are, Morgana’s been worried” said Uther She wasn’t expecting to see him.
“My lord” said Rose in a croaky voice.
“You look exhausted, have you been here all night” asked Uther with a concerned look.
“Yeah I couldn’t sleep, I am worried about Arthur” said Rose.

Uther gave her a sad smile and put his hand out for her to take.
“come I’ll take you to your chambers” said Uther. She looked at him and saw he was a man not to argue with he was attempting to look comforting, but he also had that stern look.
“Can I see Arthur first?” said Rose She took his hand and stood up and staggered backwards having a wave of dizziness come over her. Uther caught her before she could fall and picked her up. He held her in his arms with her head on his shoulder. Like how he had held Arthur the afternoon before. It was weird to see this fatherly side to him rather than his angry side or his kingly side.
“You’re having some sleep first your dead on your feet” said Uther. She nodded and let her eyelids completely droop.

Later that day, Rose woke up and was given a drink by Morgana. She was looking happy a bit happy giving the circumstances.
“Arthur will be okay” said Morgana.
“That’s is such great news” said Rose. She got up and hugged Morgana before going to see Gaius and Merlin. She entered the chamber and hugged Merlin tightly.
“I heard you sat on a balcony for a whole day and night waiting for me” said Merlin.
“You are correct, whose life did you sacrifice on isle of the blessed” said Rose. Gaius was giving them grave looks.
“My own, it’s okay, my life is worth less than Arthur’s” said Merlin
“I will spend the night here I don’t want you to feel alone Merlin” said Rose.

They went through to his room and sat on the bed. Rose wrapped her arm around him, and he wrapped his arm around her.                                                                    
“Thank you, you have always been like a sister me, take over my destiny keep Arthur safe,” said Merlin. Rose felt so sick as she nodded she knew Merlin wasn’t going to die but it was going to be Hunnith but if he told him he was going to live but his mother will die he’ll be angry with her for not saying something sooner but at the same time she would have said something if she hadn’t been hit by a sleeping spell in the court yard. They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Merlin fell asleep. She heard the door to the chamber open she got up carefully and gasped in horror as Hunnith covered in sores and boils collapsed to the floor Rose got there just in time to stop her head hitting the floor hard.
“Gaius” said Rose loudly. Gaius woke up and got onto the floor next to her. He did checks on Hunnith before cupping her head.
“I’m alive” called Merlin He came into the main chamber. Rose got up and attempted to shield his view of his dying mother, but he was too curious. “What is it, what’s happened”.
“Stay there” said Gaius.

Merlin attempted to step round Rose, but Rose wouldn’t move out the way, so he moved her to the side with his hands.
“No, don’t” said Rose. Merlin dropped to his knees looking stressed and about to cry.
“Mother” said Merlin sadly he looked completely in shock.
“Merlin, Rose” said Hunnith.
“What’s happened to her?” said Merlin desperately. Rose was feeling the guilt build up the more she looked at Hunnith.
“Take care of her” said Rose. She squeezed Hunnith’s hand and kissed her cheek before getting up and leaving the room.

Rose was going to go to the isles of blessed and speak to the person there and unlock the potential of her powers. She went to the Kilghara’s cave quickly.
“Where is the isle of blessed? And is it there my magic will grow?” asked Rose.
“It is beyond the white mountains, through the valley of the fallen kings to the north of the great seas of Meredor you will see a lake and a boat use the boat to get to the isle, there your magic will in fact grow, be careful” said Kilghara. Rose nodded and smiled at him.
“Thank you” said Rose. She ran to the armoury got her personalised sword and left the town quickly on her horse.

In the physian’s chamber Merlin had helped Gaius lay Hunnith in his bed she woke up and took Merlin’s hand.
“I need to tell you” muttered Hunnith.
“Get some rest” said Merlin. Hunnith squeezed his hand and looked carefully into Merlin’s face.
“No, I need to tell you, before I die, Rose is your sister” said Hunnith quietly. Merlin stared at her in alarm and confusion.
“How?” asked Merlin.

Hunnith looked at Gaius for some help with the explanation.
“Your father came to Hunnith when he got word that your mother was ill, turned out not to be the case they had relations and then your father was forced to flee because he was a fugitive before he could be told he had a son, your mother found out she was pregnant and with Will’s mother dying along with the baby around the same time Rose was born it made sense for her to pass Rose of as Will’s sister to avoid too much suspicion” explained Gaius.
“I will save you, I will!” said Merlin before getting up and running to the dragon’s cave. His heart was pumping fast. His mum was dying, he had a sister he known all her life as a sister of someone else.

Rose was riding towards the isle of the blessed she had made it to a boat she tethered the horse to a tree and got in the boat. The boat automatically started moving as soon as she sat down. The boat took her to a fortress a broken fortress with broken walls and ruins. She got off the boat and sent it back to the other side of the lake before entering the isle. She found a stone table the table. She felt the need to touch the table. A blond woman came out of the shadows she was wearing a red dress with big brown eyes and her hair was flowing to her shoulders.
“Rose it is lovely to see you again” said the woman. Rose jumped and stared at her. She never seen this woman before she spoke well. Rose felt a connection and a trust for the woman.
“Who are you?” asked Rose.
“I am your high priestess connection, you were unconscious last time I saw you, you were close to death in the small village Ealdor, we are linked together in magic, the link will be stronger once you become high priestess” said the woman.
“Thank you for saving me, what’s your name? How do I become high priestess?” said Rose.

The sooner she could become high priestess the sooner she could stop having the magic tingling under her skin uncomfortably.                                                                
“My name is Morgause, to be become high priestess you need to touch the table with both hands and open your heart and mind and listen to my spell, you may pass out for about an hour or two but don’t worry you are safe, you are one of the youngest high priestess so I am unsure of the effects the magic will have on you” said the women in her head she touched the table and magic went through her as a silent spell went through her. Her magic grew and grew as she stood there, she got tired and began to feel dizzy “let go of the table”. She did and fell backwards the blond women caught her and lowered her down “we will be meeting soon”. She passed out.

Rose came to and felt a power she had never felt before she saw a blast of fire being sent into Merlin she got up and pushed Nimeuh back with magic to keep her away from Merlin.
“Nice to see you awake, you and I can make a team” said Nimeuh. Getting up. Rose shook her head and glanced at Merlin his t-shirt smoked.
“No chance of that one, I would never join forces with someone that hurt my friend! Attempted to ruin my destiny” said Rose.
“Your destiny is doomed one, join me and I can save you” said Nimeuh. Rose looked at her with a glare. She then saw Gaius was laid on the floor by the stone table.

Merlin got up and took Rose’s hand this made Rose jump slightly but she held his hand back relief flooded her.
“You should not of killed our friend” said Merlin. They magic a thunder and lightning storm. The lightning hit Nimeuh making her disappear. Rose felt a jolt of powerful magic making her brain hurt Merlin ran over to Gaius Rose attempted to run over, but her energy was draining. She fell forward catching herself before she passed out yet again.

The next few hours for Rose was a strange blur off travelling and accidental magic. She was being kept in Merlin’s room and no one would go see her except Merlin and Gaius. By the next morning her magic was under control and she was sick of being kept in one room. So, she went to the balcony that looked over Camelot. Not long later she was joined by Merlin.
“I am not going back to your room” said Rose quickly.
“Don’t worry I can’t wait to have my bed back” said Merlin. He sat down and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Good, Morgana is probably missing me” said Rose.
“She is, we told her you had something contagious so she couldn’t be near you” said Merlin. Rose smiled put her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t think becoming high priestess is catching, I’ll ask Kilghara” said Rose.
“Who’s Kilghara?” asked Merlin.

Rose had a jolt of annoyance he didn’t know his name Merlin had been using Kilghara’s wisdom and knowledge and never even asked him his name.
“You’ve been living in Camelot for over year and you didn’t ask the dragon his name” said Rose.
“Oh, no I haven’t, he only cares for himself” said Merlin.
“He has spent so much time alone in a cave, he’s a prisoner can you blame him, he’s like a friend” said Rose. She looked at him and she knew what she wanted to ask but she was worried about his response. But like he read her mind.                                                                               
“I’ll teach you how to control your magic,” said Merlin. Rose smiled and nodded at that.                                          
“Thank you, I don’t like sleeping spells” said Rose. Merlin looked at her with a mix of understanding and pity. He decided to change the subject.
“I see why you like it up here” said Merlin.
“Yeah Camelot has become my home, I look forward to seeing what being high priestess will bring” said Rose. She laid back and relaxed watching the people in Camelot go about their lives unaware that magic was slowly on the rise in Camelot.

The end.

Chapter Text

It had been under a year since Rose had become high priestess of the old religion. She had learnt a lot about herself and her magic. She can see through enchantments and magical creature but couldn’t see through aging spells. She had learnt all this through Kilghara who had become a friend and mentor, Rose would go to his cave in the evening and they would talk for hours on end, and he would tell her stories of dragons and dragon lords. In the last few months, she had also been spending time with Arthur sometimes on the training ground and sometimes just sitting in his room and talking for a bit.  The castle was having men dig up the caves underneath the castle for last few days they were under orders to avoid Kilghara’s cave by Uther.

Uther had no idea the dragon had friends and kin in the castle so was basically giving Kilghara a life of loneliness. Rose lay in bed tossing and turning the banging stopped a few minutes later it was replaced by screaming. She got up and put on a shawl and grabbed her sword which she keeps in her room now.  Before going to tunnels she got to a tomb and immediately the magic in the room was obvious the tomb muttered from a glass heart with a blue mist in it. The magic was angry and evil. She looked around Merlin and Gaius were there already. A creepy looking body was laying on the floor. She had a jolt of fear and moved over them. Merlin looked around and noticed Rose.
“What did he die of then” asked Rose.
“You really shouldn’t be here” said Gaius. He stepped on a trap and an arrow came out of the raven. Merlin used magic to save him by using the plate as a shield “you saved my life, thank you”.

He dropped the plate at the sound of royal family. Rose went into the shadows knowing that they weren’t going to like the fact she was there as technically she wasn’t allowed to out at this time off night without an adult.
“Idiot” said Uther as the plate landed at his feet.
“You practise at being clumsy or does it come naturally” said Arthur.
“One of my many talents” said Merlin he grinned. The whispering got louder, and she could make out words. She tapped into her magic and focused on the magic and the tomb spoke to her.
“I will return to Camelot and get my revenge” said the whispery voice.
“Why do you need revenge” asked Rose in her head.
“These people didn’t let me take over, me and you can rule over Camelot” said the whispery voice. Rose stepped forward the stone was calling her to it.
“NO!” shouted Rose. Everyone turned around to stare at her she realised that she shouted out loud.
“Rose?” questioned Gaius.

Rose moved forward and glared at the tomb. She was getting an evil feeling from the raven it meant to kill them all it wanted to rule with her, but she had another destiny.
“This tomb needs to be sealed up, its needs to be sealed up, it’s dangerous” said Rose desperately. She went over the jewel and pointed to it “It’s evil”. She had a big fear going through her, but she was unsure why, because it wasn’t the first time Camelot had tried to be taken over by crazy sorcerers.
“Someone get her out of here” said Uther in a bored voice. Rose shook her head and stepped back when Arthur attempted to approach. He lifted his hands up like she was a startled horse she wasn’t sure whether to be offended or touched.
“It’s alright, it’s just a booby trap that’s all, come with me” said Arthur. Rose started to waiver with a smile. He put his hand out and she took it. Arthur then pulled her from the room and took her to her chambers.

The next morning Rose got up and got dressed and went to Kilghara’s cave. She did this most morning she’ll bring him a raw rabbit or two for him to snack on. She sat down on the rock and opened her mind and heart.
“Young one I am delighted to see” said Kilghara.
“Likewise,” said Rose. She magicked the rabbits over to his perch. Rose smiled as he set them on fire and then ate them.
“Thank you” said Kilghara. Rose sent a butterfly over to him from the magic of her hands “you are talented, how I wish I could see a real butterfly”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know how to wake the knights of Mediar, I would steal one of their swords” said Rose. Kilghara started to laugh and Rose smiled unsure of what he was laughing at.
“You are too kind” said Kilghara. They carried on talking for a good few hours before Rose went up to the main castle area, she went to Gaius’s chambers. He was reading some books.
“Are you reading about the tomb” asked Rose. Gaius nodded and pointed at book.
“Yeah I know who the tomb is, sit and read this it’s history” said Gaius. Rose followed the order and sat down and read the book the Sorcerer Cornelius Sigan a man from thousands of years ago he had built Camelot itself, but he became too powerful and he got sent away. Merlin came in looking sad.
“What’s wrong” asked Rose.
“Someone else got the credit for saving Arthur’s life” said Merlin.

He looked a bit sad and frustrated; she wanted to run over and give him a hug but fought against it.
“So, the usual then” said Rose.
“All the stuff I do for him and he thinks I am an idiot” said Merlin.
“You’re not an idiot you’re a good person, we have worked out whose tomb it is” said Rose.
“Who’s is it” asked Merlin sitting down opposite Rose and next to Gaius, Merlin gave her a smile and read a book over Gaius’s shoulder.
“What language is that?” asked Merlin.
“It is ancient druid, hang on” said Rose. She took the book and used her magic to translate the words her eyes flashed “it says I will return and get my revenge on Camelot, the raven will fly high, Camelot will pay for ever underestimating me, I have conquered death itself”.

Rose stared at the passage the curse. She couldn’t help but laugh talk about over dramatic much. She noticed that evil sorcerers seemed to be dramatic.
“This isn’t funny Rose this is serious” said Gaius looking taken aback at her amusement. He raised his eyebrow and she immediately pulled a serious face.
“He’s so over dramatic” said Rose. Merlin gave her a smirk of amusement which change to a look of realisation.
“Did you get an evil vibe last night?” asked Merlin.
“Yes, the stone in the middle of the actual grave bit was speaking to me, trying to get to join him” said Rose.             

The next day Rose was walking through the town on the way to the stables, Morgana had a bad dream the night before, so Rose was going to distract her with a horse ride in the woods with some food. She saw Arthur on her way she stopped to speak to him.
“Good morning Rose, you ready for our training session this afternoon” asked Arthur. Rose nodded excitedly.
“Yeah, I am going for ride then will be back, what will I be learning today?” asked Rose.
“A defence move and an attack” said Arthur. A rumbling came out of nowhere. She heard a shout and the horses started to run through the street. Arthur grabbed her arm and moved them both out of the way before they were knocked over by a horse.

They walked to the stables to see Merlin was asleep on the floor. Rose and Arthur squatted over him Rose was concerned he doesn’t usually fall asleep while doing chores. Merlin stirred and woke up and looked at them. He sat up looking shocked he seemed confused.
“Sire, Rose” said Merlin.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose. He nodded at her and then looked at Arthur looking even more confused. They all stood up and faced each other.

Merlin had horse dung smeared on his face.
“What are you doing?” asked Arthur.
“Nothing” said Merlin.
“We can see that, maybe you were looking for something” said Arthur.
“Yeah I wasn’t sleeping” said Merlin.
“Maybe we are looking for the same thing, the horses” said Arthur. Merlin looked around and noticed the horses were gone. Merlin lifted the hands to his head.
“I don’t know what happened” said Merlin. Arthur mimicked his movements mockingly. Rose decided to leave them to it and start getting the horse’s back not wanting to hear Arthur have a go at Merlin.
“I’m going to get the horses back” said Rose.

She left the stables and walked through the town she got two horses and took them by their reigns and took them to the stables.
“Cedric’s right, he can look after me tonight, you can go home and think about whether you want to be my servant” shouted Arthur. One of the horses started to pull with fear. Rose walked in as Merlin walked off ready to cry. Rose tied the reigns to the bars again before turning on Arthur.
“You have no right to speak to Merlin like that, he might be clumsy and a bit of idiot at times, but he is loyal and will put himself in danger for you in an instant” shouted Rose.
“It’s been one mistake after the other, I know that the big idiot is loyal that is why I am giving him the evening off, if I was a normal noble I would have him flogged, come on let’s get all the horses” said Arthur.

It took them all day to find all the horses, but they had a laugh while doing it one of the horses wouldn’t do anything for Arthur but would move once Rose took over. They finally got the last horse in which was Arthur’s horse they tied him up to the bar before facing each other.
“Good work lets go get something to eat” said Arthur. They walked back to the castle and went to Arthur’s chambers for some dinner.

After eating Rose went to her chambers tired after the busy day of getting the horses back. She fell asleep straight away. She woken by a power magic it felt like it was going through her veins. She got up and went to the window to look out it. Rose looked over to Morgana who was asleep in her bed. It was evil magic she felt evil magic something was wrong.
“High priestess I am returned, we can run Camelot together” said Sigan voice in her head.
“No, I would rather not, whose body have you taken” said Rose in her head to Sigan. She went towards the door but before she could open it the warning bell sounded which woke Morgana up.

She looked around and noticed Rose was standing in her area of chamber.
“Rose are you alright” said Morgana in a scared voice. Rose ran over to her bed sitting down next to her.
“Yes” said Rose.
“I was just making sure you weren’t doing anything foolish” said Morgana pulling her into a hug. Rose hugged her back and laid down on the bed. Morgana pulled her to her. So, Rose’s head was on her shoulder.
“That warning bell always seems to be going off” said Rose.
“Unfortunately, that’s true” said Morgana. She stroked Rose’s hair affectionately and Rose shifted so she cuddled up with Morgana. The warning bell stopped, and Rose fell asleep for a bit.

Rose woke up that morning and got dressed before heading to Arthur’s champers. She knocked on the door.
“Enter” said Arthur. Rose entered and saw that Arthur was writing at his desk.
“Can I sit with you for a bit?” asked Rose. Arthur nodded and pointed at the bed.

Rose went over to the bed and sat down on it leant against the headboard.
“Have you come to ask about the warning bell last night” asked Arthur. Rose was taken aback about he knew this information but at the same time it was known she could be curious.
“Yeah what was that about?” said Rose.
“The crystal in that tomb has been stolen” said Arthur. Merlin walked in and stood in front of Arthur’s table he looked worried.
“Cedric is possessed by an evil spirit” said Merlin bluntly.
“What?” said Arthur he sounded very sceptical about it and to be honest Rose didn’t blame him, it did seem farfetched.
“He stole the crystal from the Sigan’s tomb it has his soul inside, Sigan will use the crystal to take over Camelot” said Merlin.

Rose sighed it had to be that weirdo that got Sigan.
“We should alert the army” said Rose. Arthur shook his head and gave Merlin an amused look.
“Have you been on the cider” asked Arthur.
“Please listen to me, he won’t stop until Camelot has crumbled to the ground” said Merlin.
“This nonsense won’t help you keep your job” said Arthur flatly.
“You’re not listening to me” shouted Merlin.

Rose jumped at his shout; she wasn’t used to seeing Merlin angry Arthur noticed her jump which seemed to make him angrier than the fact he was being shouted at.
“If you’re going to shout and scare Rose you can leave, Cedric!” called Arthur. Cedric came into the room and looked at Rose with an intense look the evil magic was rolling off him she could sense it.
“Yes, my lord” drawled Cedric it made her skin crawl.
“Escort Merlin from the palace” said Arthur.
“He lives in the palace unless you want to tell Gaius you banished his ward” said Rose. She got up and stood by the bed. Cedric approached her but Merlin angrily got between them.
“I will escort Rose to her chambers, if you want to speak to your manservant alone” said Cedric.
“No, you will do no such thing” shouted Merlin before leaping on him and pulling at his face and scratching.

Cedric pushed back at Merlin’s face Rose couldn’t help giggle at the girly way that Merlin fought. Cedric kicked Merlin as Rose and Arthur went forward to pull them apart, but Cedric kicked Merlin which made him flip and hit into both off them knocking them both of their feet. Cedric crawled under bed to get away from Merlin, Arthur got up and helped Rose up. Merlin followed Cedric under the bed. Arthur got on top the bed and pounced on Merlin. Rose stepped forward but Cedric grabbed her arm holding her back.
“You have gone too far Merlin; you can cool off in the cells guards, Cedric take Rose to her chambers” said Arthur angrily. 

Cedric took Rose to her chambers; Morgana wasn’t there so he smiled before shutting the door. His eyes became black as he became Sigan.
“You have been ignoring my request for you to join me” said Sigan.
“You have ruined things for my best friend, so no I would never join you” said Rose she made a fire ball in her hand getting ready to throw it at him but he was one step ahead of her and put a protective spell when she did it so it blocked the fire.
“once I have bought Camelot to the ground you will join us” said Sigan. He left the room and Rose glared at the spot where he once was.

Rose knew the attack would be tonight when the defences were at it’s weakest. She went to the armoury and collected armour and helmet and knight’s cloak. She went back to her chambers. She wasn’t going to sit around while Camelot fell. She got the armour on and the cloak around her shoulders. She moved the cloak around to hide her chest. She had to cut the cloak a bit at the bottom to stop it trailing too much on the floor. She put her long black hair into a bun on the top of her head and put a helmet over of her head which cover her face except her eyes.

She was tall and lanky for her age so she could pass for a young knight as night-time came the warning bell sounded and she ran to join the knights. With all the madness that was going on Arthur didn’t notice she was the only one with a helmet on, they fought the stone gargoyles in the square. In a formation with Arthur leading they attempted to stab at the gargoyle. Everyone started to fall over around them, but Rose stayed on her feet people got up and came back into formation.
“Regroup! Form a phalanx,” said Arthur.

Rose followed the order, and they all went back into formation their spears up their shields protecting them as they went low. The creature knocked them out one by one. Except Rose it seemed to not want to go near her, she looked up to one of the balconies and saw Sigan looking at her with amusement. Of course, he saw through disguise no one else did though she had them all fooled. She stabbed at the gargoyle and it flew away. It was going towards Arthur Rose moved forward, but he was too far away. Gwen dragged him away from the situation and out of reach. She joined the knights on the bridge and unfortunately people were dying. The screams were loud, and people died painfully.
“Stop this Sigan, you don’t have to kill everyone, some of people could be magical and your condemning them to death” said Rose into Sigan’s head.
“My creatures will not harm you; I need my revenge on these people” said Sigan into her head.

She made one of the gargoyles crumbled into pieces.
“What will make you stop!” said Rosie in a loud voice in to Sigan’s head.
“When Camelot is no more” said Sigan into her head. Rose rolled her eyes he was so over dramatic would it hurt to have a low-key sorcerer. How on earth was Arthur going to accept magic if people kept attacking him with it. She was then joined by the Arthur and some more knights.
“Check for survivors” said Arthur sadly.

She moved forward but two gargoyles came at them she ducked but they ignored her and picked up another person. Arthur was knocked over and all the knights except Rose retreated the square. She pulled Arthur up of the floor and they covered each other as they rounded the corner back into the square. The gargoyle separated Arthur and Rose to the others.
“Retreated save yourselves that is an order” ordered Arthur. The other knights took that order and legged it back inside he looked at Rose “you go to”. Rose shook her head. The gargoyle went for Arthur and Rose slowed down time and jumped between them then the time sped up and she made impact with the gargoyle she felt coolness on her face as her helmet came off with impact it knocked her backwards, she screamed as she hit the floor and the world went black.

Rose woke up sometime later still in the courtyard. She stayed still her whole body was sore, but she didn’t care. She could see Merlin was walking through the mist. Gaius came outside slowly.
“Merlin?” said Gaius. Merlin showed him the blue crystal that was now silent “well done my boy” giving him a hug.  Merlin hugged back and then came running towards Rose Gaius followed behind him.
“Can you move?” asked Merlin gently he got on his knees to kneel next to her. Rose nodded and sat up slowly with Merlin’s assistance she had a jolt of pain through her ankle. Merlin pulled her towards him and comforted her.
“My ankle and head hurts and it feels like I just had a fight with a horse” joked Rose.
“No just a fight with a stone gargoyle” said Arthur in a stern voice. Everyone jumped and turned around he was stood behind them.
“Come on let’s get inside,” said Gaius.

Rose stood up with Merlin’s help but the moment she was vertical she felt sick and dizzy. She nearly fell sideways her ankle not taking her support but was caught by Arthur. He huffed and picked her up, so he was carrying her bridal style. They walked towards the door and Rose saw that Arthur was injured.
“You shouldn’t be carrying me your wounded” said Rose.
“Thanks to your heroics he only managed to scratch my face and a knock to the head” said Arthur he still sounded stern. He carried her into the ward and laid her down on a table. Morgana came running over.
“What happened?” asked Morgana. Gaius went into physician mode and started to sort her out.
“Your ward decided to start playing soldiers” said Arthur.
“You have been training me in sword skills, you got me my own sword what was I meant to do with it chop up fruit” said Rose. Merlin gave her a smirk.
“You are a child; you can’t just run into danger when you feel like it” said Arthur. Rose head hurt and she couldn’t be dealing this. She gave Merlin a look.
“Arthur, stop, she saved your life” said Merlin. Rose felt a tiredness wash over her and fell asleep.

Rose woke up later in her bed she was feeling loads better her head and her ankle were pain free and she felt a lot fresher. She sat up in bed and saw Merlin asleep sat in a chair by the bed.
“Merlin” said Rose. He woke up and smiled at her.
“Nice to see your awake” said Merlin.
“You alright?” asked Rose. He looked tired and concerned.
“Yeah, how about you?” asked Merlin.
“I am good, have you done some healing of your own” said Rose giving him a mockingly stern look. “I’ll rebreak your ankle then” said Merlin with a joke in his tone.

Rose smiled and looked at her now healed ankle it felt better. Her head also felt a lot better.
“One broken ankle and a concussion impressive, well I did jump in front of a stone gargoyle saving your destiny” said Rose. There was a knock at the door, Rose got up and noticed she was wearing a dress, she went to the door and let Arthur in he entered the chambers he gave her a smile. She sat down at her table and he sat down opposite her.
“Merlin can you give us a minute?” asked Arthur. Merlin looked like he was about to protest, Rose gave him a nod, Merlin nodded back at her and then left the room “you two always seem to have a lot of non-verbal conversations”
“Yeah we have done it for a long time, Are you feeling recovered?” asked Rose.
“Yeah I am, thank you, last night you saved my life and showed me a lot of loyalty, I came to thank you” said Arthur.
“Your welcome” said Rose.
“It was so dangerous, we need to go through some more lessons about following orders, if I tell you to retreat, you retreat” said Arthur. Rose looked up at him with a shocked look. She was expecting Arthur to stop training her after her stunt last night “why did you join the battle”.
“My healing skills aren’t the best and I wanted to help, once I see a place as my home, I’ll do anything to protect it” said Rose.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been a month since she had pretended to be a knight, and everything felt like never had happened. Her destiny felt like it was going nowhere she had to find the once and future queen, but she felt like she had been given a wild goose chase of a destiny. How was she meant to protect someone she didn’t know who it was?

Rose was watching the jousting practice sat on a balcony looking over the training ground. She saw Arthur unhorse someone and then change his lance and the go against someone else. She saw Arthur unhorse this one as well she could tell by Arthur’s body language, he was angry. He got off horse and argued with Leon then he stormed off.

Rose got of her seat and went to Arthur chambers to see what was going on. She knocked on the door and Merlin let her in. Arthur was passing backward and forward looking angry. She went and stood by the desk and leant on it.
“What happened?” asked Rose.
“It turns out my knights are letting me win, they are treating me differently because I am a prince,” said Arthur.
“Unfortunately, it comes with the job of being crowned prince, if they injure you, they would probably end up in the stocks or worse” said Rose being honest with him.
“Thank you for your honesty, I just wish I could be taken seriously” said Arthur.
“Well, if you ever wanted to swap places,” said Merlin. Arthur looked at Merlin and an idea seemed to flicker on to his face.
“Rose, can you leave us,” said Arthur. Rose nodded and left the room. She went to the library and got a book about knight’s code and manoeuvres. She took it to her chambers and sat down at the desk. She read until nightfall before going to bed.

The next morning Rose woke up and saw a note on her desk from Morgana saying that she had been summoned to the throne room. Rose stretched out and made herself up a bath. She read the book in the bath enjoying the warmth of the bath, every time it would cool down, she would use magic to heat it up slightly. Once she had had enough of the bath she got out and got dried and dressed she put her hair up in a ponytail before going to the town she saw Merlin and Gwen take a man into Gwen’s house. Rose knocked on her door and entered. Gwen and Merlin were cleaning up a farmer and making him look like a knight.
“Rose come join us” said Arthur
“Aren’t you meant to be off killing a bear lion creature?” asked Rose sitting down on a seat next to Arthur.
“Yeah, well about that, my plan is, to joust and for them to not know it’s me to prove myself” said Arthur.
“If they injure you, they are going to discover it’s you” said Rose.

The farmer paced backwards and forwards in chainmail and armour. He was falling at times under the weight of the chainmail. She sniggered at that. She managed the chainmail without falling under
“From now on, you're Sir William of Daira. Imagine you're really...arrogant. Knights like to think they're so much better than everyone else.” Said Merlin.
“Walk around with your chest out it shows confidence, neck held up, you walk with nobility and honour like you own the place” said Rose remembering what she did when she had pretended to be knight. Arthur gave her an impressed look.
“Follow her advice she knows how to sneak into a battle and pretend to be a knight” said Arthur.

Rose got up and walked like a knight William followed her lead.
“That’s more like it” said Rose. She sat down again next to Arthur and laughed as William carried on strutting backwards and forwards.
“Clean my armour, boy” said William in a deep and manly voice.
“Yeah you do need to polish our armour” said Arthur.
“Normal people that are not prince’s clean their own armour” said Rose. She could see that Merlin was tired and knew Gaius was probably using the fact Arthur was away to put more chores on him.
“It’s alright Rose, I’ll clean the armour,” said Merlin. Rose rolled her eyes he was too loyal for his own good.
“Fine then I’ll help you,” said Rose. Merlin gave her a thankful look and smiled.

 They left the house and went to the armoury and started polish and clean the armour. She sat down on the floor crossed legged and Merlin sat opposite her.
“This will take us most the night, you sure you want to stay” asked Merlin.
“Off course I want to stay, I wish he would get some humility and actually do stuff for himself,” said Rose. She sat back on the wall and polished the helmet and shield.
“Unfortunately, you can’t change the fact he was bought up a prince” said Merlin. Rose nodded she was still confused by stuff in the royal household sometime missing her much simpler life in Ealdor, but she could never leave now she would miss everyone so much.
“Yeah” said Rose. They scrubbed the armour until it was all clean. They took the armour to Gwen’s place and left it on the table before leaving for the night. Rose went to her chambers and had some fruit before going to bed.  

The next day the tournament was in full swing the jousting was going well. Rose sat in the tent that Arthur and William were swapping places. Arthur came into the tent and sent William out to show off to the crowd.
“Typical, I do the work and someone else gets all the credit,” said Arthur.
“I know the feeling,” said Merlin. He looked even more tired than before, she gave him a smile and he yawned.
“Will you teach me to joust?” asked Rose.
“When your taller,” said Arthur. Merlin gave a scoff noise which made everyone look at him he looked really annoyed.
“You’re not teaching her it is bad enough you keep teaching her sword skill” said Merlin. Rose was even more confused why was he acting so protective he didn’t usually care that she was learning knight skills he was usually calm about it.
“What are you talking about? You know I enjoy learning stuff” said Rose defensively.
“Your too young, he forgets your age sometimes” said Merlin equally as defensive. She looked at Arthur with perplexed look.
“I’m going to go before Merlin locks me in a tower” said Rose hotly.

She left the tent and found Morgana in the stands she had no seat so was about to sit on the floor, but Morgana stopped her and sat her on her lap wrapping her arms around her waist.
“You alright?” asked Morgana.
“Yes, I am all good” said Rose. They watched the winners of the day go around the circle before heading back into their tents.
“Meet me in my chambers tomorrow morning” said Merlin’s voice inside her head. She ignored Merlin and carried on watching the jousting match.

Rose hated it but she headed to Merlin’s chambers the next morning after Gwen had got her ready for the first morning in a few days. She had dressed Rose in a blue dress with blue shoes and blue ribbon keeping her hair in plaits. She got to Merlin’s chambers to see Merlin was having a good old rant at poor Gaius.

Rose couldn’t see Gaius’s face, but she could tell that his eyebrows were probably raised. Rose could hear that Merlin was annoyed.
“Do you think I sit around doing nothing, I haven’t had the chance to sit around do nothing since I arrived in Camelot, I’m too busy running around after Arthur, do this Merlin, do that, If I’m running around after Arthur, I am doing chores for you, when I am not doing that I am looking after Rose keeping her safe and stopping her joining the knights, when not looking Rose I am fulfilling my destiny. You know how many times I’ve saved Arthur’s life” ranted Merlin.

Gaius looked like he was about to answer but Merlin cut over the top of him “do I get any thank? No! I have fought griffins, witches, bandits, I have been punched, poisoned, pelted with mouldy fruit. All the while I must hide who I really am and avoid Rose revealing her magic or Uther would have us executed. Sometimes I feel like I am being pulled in so many directions I don’t know which way to turn”. He sounded angry and upset Rose stepped in at that.

Merlin saw her stormed towards her took her hand and took her with him. To the jousting match.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose.
“Just feeling tired today, I feel like I do so much and yet its not even seen and now Arthur in his mission to prove himself is tiring me out” said Merlin honestly. Merlin dropped Rose off at the royal box before heading to Arthur’s tent. The jousting carried on, Rose found this a rather boring sport you didn’t even see each other’s faces and they just attempted to know each other of horse like what talent does that show. The only upside was she had a seat today not having to sit on Morgana’s lap this time. Arthur got into the final and everyone was cheering except Gwen who seemed to be getting fed up living with the prince.

Everyone again left the stadium and Rose went to the lower town to see Gwen. She however surprised to see Gwen being kicked out her house by Arthur. She went into Gwen’s house and saw that Arthur was staring at a chicken.
“What are you doing?” asked Rose.
“Thank god you’re here, what do I do with this” asked Arthur desperately. Rose gave Arthur and amused look before pointing at the seat at the table and started to cook. Arthur was trying to treat Gwen. Then it clicked the once and future queen the way Arthur and Gwen would interact and argue. It made sense now. Maybe Gwen was the once and future queen she made a mental note to ask Kilghara later.
“Watch, this is how to cook” said Rose.

Arthur sat down and watched her cook. She made a fire and put the chicken on a spit over the fire.
“Thank you” said Arthur
“Your welcome” said Rose. She took the ribbon out her hair and let her hair down. So, it was curly down her back. She placed it on the table and carried on cooking while Arthur watched. Merlin came in and they both looked up to look at him.
“Gwen said your cooking” said Merlin.
“Well Rose is teaching me to cook, do me a favour grab me a jug of wine” said Arthur.
“Also, could get some flowers and a vase?” asked Rose. Merlin nodded and left leaving Arthur and Rose to it.
“What are the flowers for” asked Arthur.
“Something that I know she will like” said Rose.

She carried on cooking and Arthur watched with interested.
“What are you doing with the carrots?” asked Arthur
“I am boiling them” said Rose. She gave him a smile and went through the cupboards and found a few candles she lit them with fire and put them on the table.
“How come you are helping me? You’re not paid neither are you getting anything out of it” said Arthur in a curious voice. Rose turned to look at Arthur and realised he isn’t used to people actively wanting to help him or spend time with him without them being paid or for it benefit to another person. Arthur was automatically assumed to become a knight and the knights had to be nice to him. Arthur was a product of a royal and a sheltered life.
“Because you’re a friend, you teach me stuff and help me out and I’m a friend that helps you out to” said Rose. She gave Arthur a quick hug before continuing to cook.

She carried cooking and then finished off. She served up the food and gave Arthur a hug before leaving the house. She snuck around the back of the house when she saw that Gwen was coming back. She was going to watch them both. Rose stood at the window stealthily watching them talk about stuff.

Rose smiled at how sweet and awkward they were. Gwen started to clear the table when she stopped.
“Where did this come from?” asked Gwen in a disappointed voice. She lifted the blue ribbon she had put in Rose’s hair that morning.
“Is it not yours?” asked Arthur. Rose put her hand to face feeling the second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness from Arthur.
“No this is Rose’s; I should know I put it in her hair this morning; I take it she cooked this meal,” said Gwen.
“Does it matter where it came from, we had a nice meal,” said Arthur.
“Yeah, if you’re getting a child to cook for you,” said Gwen.
“She knows more about cooking than me, I can catch a chicken but when it comes to cooking that’s what servants and peasants are for,” said Arthur.

Rose put her hand to her face again. Great so now they were arguing she didn’t know why is bothered sometimes but saying that there was a way that they argued that was very old married couple type.
“I am not ashamed to be a servant and I doubt Rose is ashamed to be from a peasant life, a good king should respect his people,” said Gwen. Arthur took her hand and pulled Gwen towards him.
“I’m sorry, I have a lot to learn…” said Arthur.

The sentence faded as a man came up behind her he was aiming a cross bow through the window. She pulled her sword out her scabbard and the man turned around. He looked at her and she looked him, and he shot a cross bow at her she caught it with her magic and sent it back at him them sent a ball of fire at him. He fell backwards and rolled to the side to avoid it the fire hit the area that was where he was sitting, she put the fire out before glaring at the man. Rose put some space between her and the maniac trying to kill her before running back to the castle. She wasn’t running away she just had a feeling that she was probably not going to beat him.

It was the last day of the tournament Rose was so ready for it be over. She hadn’t got chance to see Merlin since the evening before so couldn’t tell him about the crazy man from last night. Morgana helped her get ready she was doing Rose’s hair.
“Did you know there is an assassin after Arthur,” said Morgana. Rose shook her head. Morgana put both her hands on the either side of her head and gave it a gentle shake “stay still”.
“No, why would someone want to kill Arthur?” asked Rose.
“He killed king Odin’s son, in a fight to the death,” said Morgana.

She carried on doing Rose’s hair until her hair was flowing down her back. They finished off and went to the stadium for the finale. She sat down on the chair next to Morgana. She saw them joust, but something seemed different about this one. The lance was shiny she stared as the lance managed to pierce the skin, she looked at the guy. Arthur was helped back to his tent.
“Merlin, what’s going on, you need to check on the other knight he has a knife attached to his lance” said Rose into Merlin’s head.

A few minutes later Arthur came back out again and he looked weak. She crossed her fingers in her lap and both jousters went towards each other the knife glinted in the sunlight. The assassin fell off his horse and dangled off the horse either unconscious or dead. Merlin helped Arthur off his horse and helped him back to the tent. Rose cheered with everyone else happy that Arthur was okay. The farmer came out to get the glory and not Arthur.

This gave Rose a sting of worry. She got up and snuck away while everyone was distracted by the fake knight. She ran to Arthur’s tent and saw that he was bleeding.
“Are you okay?” asked Rose.
“I am alright, I have had worse” said Arthur. Gwen was tending to his wound with care.
“I’ll leave you to it” said Rose. She left the tent and went back up to the castle.

She decided to use the distraction to go to see Kilghara. She went down to his cave and sat down on a rock. Kilghara flew down from the above rock and sat on his own rock. He smiled when he saw her, and she gave him a smile back.
“Hello, can I ask you something?” asked Rose
“Hello young one, of course ask away” said Kilghara.
“Is the serving girl Gwen the once and future queen” asked Rose. Kilghara nodded his head and Rose stared at him with a shocked expression, she didn’t expect her theory to be right.

Her destiny had a reason now not just Rose staring at all the women that interacted with Arthur and wondering if they were the once and future queen.
“You are correct, your destiny is to protect the once and future queen by being the link between the light and dark” said Kilghara.
“What’s that mean the light and dark” said Rose.
“In the not so distant future your allies will be divided, you will the link between the two groups as your love and your friendliness will hopefully stop the terrible things to come” said Kilghara.
“What does that mean?” said Rose.                              “You will find out with time” said Kilghara.

Rose sighed at this response wouldn’t it be easier if he told her stuff rather than leaving her to guess.
“Do you always have to be vague” said Rose.
“The impatience of youth” said Kilghara. He chuckled and Rose smiled. His laugh was infectious. He blew warm air through her hair and Rose breathed in the smoky air. He knew that calmed her down when she was worried or stressed. She sighed feeling a lot more confident at least she knew who the once and future queen was now.

The end

Chapter Text

It was night-time in Camelot and Rose was asleep in Morgana’s bed with Morgana. Rose could smell smoke in her dream she was confused but she woke up and saw Morgana’s eyes glow as the curtain set further on fire. They both screamed, Rose got up and sent water towards the fire with magic. It was instinctive and she didn't think about it forgetting Morgana was in the room. The fire was too powerful though, Morgana grabbed her hand and dragged Rose out the room. Rose panic increased she had done magic in front of Morgana. Arthur and a few guards come around the corner. Rose breathing hitched and she froze. 
“What happened? I heard screaming,” said Arthur.
“A fire in the chambers,” cried Morgana. She was looking horrified. Rose was ready for Morgana to tell Arthur about her magic “Rose attempted to put the fire out with the water basin”. Rose let out a half gasp and a sob. She coughed which hurt her throat slightly. Morgana wrapped her arm around Rose.
“You two take these two to Gaius’s chambers, while there get Merlin, you two get the king” said Arthur.

The guards and Morgana helped Rose to Gaius’s chambers it was a blur of sweet teas and blankets. Morgana had her arm wrapped around her. Reassuring her and stroking her hair. Rose held back hoping to be giving Morgana the same comfort. They had both done magic in front of each other. Morgana had magic. She was shocked.
“What I don’t understand is Morgana, is how did the fire start in first place,” said Gaius.
“It happened so fast,” said Rose. She put her head on Morgana’s shoulder. Great now Gaius was probably going to tell her off for using magic in front of Morgana. She was worried, stressed, tired and confused and it was coming out in shakes and tremors.
“It’s alright, you’re both safe now,” said Gaius.

He looked at Rose with a concerned look.
“It was like I looked at the candle and then the flames started, it was magic, then Rose attempted to save us with magic,” said Morgana. Rose stiffened waiting for the telling off, the explanation of why she needed to leave or worse a call for a guard. Morgana seemed to notice her stiffen “hey shh, shh, it’s okay I am not angry” she stroked her hair affectionately.
“It wasn’t magic my child,” said Gaius.
“I am not a child,” cried Morgana.
“It was magic her eyes glowed and everything,” said Rose.
“You have both been through a terrible ordeal, I’ll make you a sleeping draft,” said Gaius.
“Morgana go check on our chambers, I need to speak to Gaius and Merlin when he gets back,” said Rose. Morgana looked at Rose before nodding she got up squeezed her shoulder and left the room. Rose looked nervously at Gaius.
“Here have this, your shaking like a leaf” said Gaius he gave her a draft and she took it.

Rose immediately felt calmer she gagged a bit at the taste, but the immediate effects outweighed the taste. She really wanted to see Merlin.
“I’m sorry, Gaius it was instinctive there was fire everywhere,” said Rose.
“It’s alright, take some deep breathes,” said Gaius. Rose started to feel sleepy she looked at Gaius in surprise. He had given her a sleeping draft. He helped her stand and walked her through to Merlin’s room. He laid her down on the bed and Rose fell asleep as Gaius put the blanket over her.

She woke up sometime later to hear Merlin and Gaius talking. She got up and brushed herself down she found a dress hanging on the door. Rose was amused. She went into the main chambers with the dress.
“Merlin, I know Arthur calls you a girl but come on” said Rose she laughed and showed him the dress. Merlin smiled and gave her look.
“I don’t think it’ll fit me” said Merlin. Rose looked at the dress and then looked at Merlin. She was at Merlin’s forearms with her height, but she was due a burst of growth soon.
“What am I going to do about Morgana?” asked Rose.
“Nothing, she’ll calm down in a few days” said Gaius.
“Well get dressed and we’ll go for a walk” said Merlin in her head. She went to get dressed leaving her nightdress on the bed. They went for a walk into the forest to pick some flowers.

Rose sat on a fallen tree log and got herself comfortable while Merlin picked some flowers.
“So now we aren’t around Gaius what are we going to do about Morgana,” said Rose. Merlin turned around to look at her. He got the flowers he wanted and sat down on the log next Rose.
“I have the idea of maybe getting her to the druids,” said Merlin.
“I guess Gaius loves that one, did he do his eyebrows,” said Rose. Merlin laughed and bumped her shoulder with his shoulder. Rose did an impression of the Gaius’s dreaded eyebrows which made Merlin laugh.
“He means well,” said Merlin.
“Yeah, but sometimes his advice is completely opposite to Kilghara’s advice,” said Rose. Merlin looked at her and nodded.
“To be fair Kilghara is a bit rebellious,” said Merlin. Rose and Merlin carried on chatting until it was early afternoon before heading back to the castle.

They headed to Morgana’s and Rose’s chambers Arthur saw them on the way to them.
“Where have you been?” asked Arthur. Merlin hid the flowers behind his back. Arthur noticed and attempted to see what was behind his back.
“I was cheering Rose up” said Merlin.
“Please remember you are my servant, not hers” said Arthur he still looked suspicious and a bit odd, it was like he was wanting time with Merlin.
“Shame I think he’ll make a good maid” said Rose they both laughed while Merlin made a face at them “Merlin will walk me to my chambers then he’s all yours”.

The chambers had been tidied up since the fire. Rose was ready for a good read. She got her book and slept until she fell asleep. She woke up the next morning to Morgana getting into her bed.
“Tell me I’m not mad” said Morgana tearfully. Rose sat up in the bed and pulled Morgana to her, so her head was on her shoulder. She stroked her hair carefully. Morgana wrapped her arm around her waist.
“You are not mad, you have magic” said Rose.
“Does it ever get easier? I smashed the vase and now Merlin thinks I am crazy” said Morgana.
“Yes, I can teach you magic if you want, it’s nothing to be scared off” said Rose. She carried on stroking Morgana’s hair until Morgana fell asleep.

Rose feeling tired decided to join in on the sleep. She fell asleep and woke up sometimes later to Gwen waking them up for breakfast. They both got up and ate breakfast. Morgana ate with one hand the other hand was holding Rose’s hand. Rose accepted the fact that Morgana needed that support. Morgana went and laid down on her bed and fell asleep. Rose stood at her window and watched Camelot the knights were arresting people in the lower town. She spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on Morgana glad that she was having a rested sleep. Every time Morgana seemed to get distressed or upset in her sleep Rose would send across a calming spell.

Finally, Morgana woke up with a start and still looked troubled.  There was a knock at the door Rose answered it. It was Merlin with two sleeping drafts in his hand.
“I came to deliver this,” said Merlin. Morgana got up and came to the door.
“I don't need any potion, thank you. Merlin? Ignore what I said last night. I had a nightmare, I was upset,” said Morgana.
“We can trust Merlin,” said Rose.
“I’m sorry, it’s Gwen that deals with me when I am like this” said Morgana tearfully. Merlin shut the door and came further into the room.
“I know this is probably scary especially for you,” said Merlin.
“Why especially for me?” asked Morgana defensively.
“You know being the king’s ward and having magic, it’s nothing to be afraid of, I know of people that can help” said Merlin.
“Who would that be” asked Rose.
“The druid’s I found out where you could find them” said Merlin. Rose listened as Merlin told them where to find the druids. Morgana and Rose packed up their stuff and dressed for the journey, were out the city before morning light.

The journey was an easy one they would talk and have a laugh. They were nearly at the camp at nightfall. They heard clicking noises in the trees and rustling all around them. Rose tensed up and was ready to fight with sword, magic or in the end her hands if she had to. Morgana was not getting harmed on her watch.
“Morgana get behind me” said Rose. She listened in her head hoping to hear the druids communicating but she heard nothing. Morgana got behind her. A few Serkets came out from the trees. Rose blasted them back with magic she turned around and saw more were coming towards them from behind and the sides. She blasted them back with magic but one she hadn’t noticed had come up from behind and struck Morgana on the leg.

She fell to the floor and Rose kept attempting to fight them off but there were too many now. A hot blinding pain entered her back as she was stung by the Serket. She fell to the floor and sent some back with magic still she felt weaker each spell she sent.
“Stop, you’re going to make yourself weaker” said Morgana weakly she was losing consciousness fast and Rose was also feeling like she was about to pass out.
“I can’t just give up and watch you die” said Rose. A man came into the clearing and sent a spell at the Serkets that stopped them in their tracks. The Serkets left the clearing and Rose let herself fall onto her side. Her vision started to blur, and she passed out.

Waking up was pain she was laid on a bed in a tent on her side. She could see a boy he was dabbing a wet cloth on her head.
“Ah” said Rose She attempted to sit up, but the boy kept her still.
“It’s alright Rose, I am here to help, my name is Mordred” said the boy. He helped her up and took her weight as they walked to the tent next door.
“How do you know my name” asked Morgana’s voice. Mordred and Rose walked into the tent and Rose was placed next to Morgana. Morgana hugged her. “Did you hear that?”.
“He is speaking into your mind, there is no need to panic” said Rose.
“Last night Mordred was able to sense both your distress” said Aglain. Rose had heard of him this druid camp was one of the last ones in the Camelot borders.
“I can look after you Morgana the way you looked after me, can I say Rose it is a pleasure to meet you,” said Mordred.

He sat with them, and Rose had the urge to hug him tight. She didn’t though because that would be so weird but was something about him. They had something to eat and Aglain gave them both a druid cloak. Rose loved it; it was so comfortable. Rose left Morgana to rest and went with Mordred back to their tent. She had a tingle of excitement when she thought about it like that their tent.
“How come you knew my name?” asked Rose
“You are a high priestess of the old religion, I am a druid, you are known to us” said Mordred.
“Oh yeah, so what’s it like being druid” asked Rose.
“It’s nothing too special it’s just my life, it’s a lot of running away from the Camelot knights and with me it’s a lot of magical fires shapes” said Mordred.

Rose frowned at him with interest. She got a spark from him that she had never felt before like a connection. It was different to the one she had with Morgana.
“Magical fire shapes?” questioned Rose. Mordred set up a fire and set it alight just outside their tent and he made shapes out of the fire. A rabbit running, a lion roaring, and a deer galloping came into the fire with shapes. Rose watched in complete awe she put her head on Mordred’s shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.
“You have a go” said Mordred letting the fire turn back to normal. Rose lifted her hand and a dragon breathed fire and then it changed to a horse galloping. This was making her tired she yawned and fell asleep.

She woke up some time later and looked around she was in her tent. She got up, her back still stung angrily but it was slowly healing. She came out her tent and looked around wondering where Morgana was. She saw that Mordred was stood by the fire she approached him.
“Do you know where Morgana is?” asked Rose.
“Yeah, they are having a conversation about her magic in the tent over there,” said Mordred.
“Okay, walk with me,” said Rose. Mordred put his arm out for her to link which she did, and they walked around the druid camp.

The camp was like a village it had a physician tent, a main meeting tent and a tent for magical practices it was so interest. Mordred showed her around the druid camp telling her all about it and she listened to it happy to learn so much.
“Come in here, this is my favourite tent,” said Mordred. They walked into the tent to see it was full of books with a log that had been built around with the tent. Rose loved the look of this tent there were so many books.
“What kind of books are they?” asked Rose.
“This pile is magic, this pile is druid myths and legends, this one is high priestesses, and this pile is the history of the great purge” said Mordred he was animated while talking to her, they sat down on the log and she picked up one of the magic books.
“It’s weird the idea of learning magic, I never learnt it, having it from birth it’s instinctive” said Rose she started to read the book and her and Mordred sat in comfortable silence.

A bark and shouting soon broke the warm afternoon air. Rose and Mordred looked at each other and Mordred poked his head out of the tent.
“It’s Arthur and his men! They are here” said Mordred in a panicked voice. They both stood up and ran in the other direction, the running wasn’t helping her back which hurt the more she ran. They met with Aglain, and Morgana and Merlin was also there. Merlin was giving her a look he looked at her hand and she looked down and barely noticed the fact she was holding hands with Mordred. She shrugged and carried on running with Morgana and the druids.
“You go, I’ll distract them,” said Merlin.
“Merlin you can’t” protested Rose.
“It’s my fault they are here, run!” said Merlin.

Rose ran with the other, but she was slowing down. She knew this was pointless one of them was going to succumb with pain. She saw the fog made by Merlin and they carried on running. Morgana slumped to the ground and passed out.
“They’re coming” said Mordred desperately. Aglain got hit by a flying arrow and Rose pulled Mordred out the way to stop a spare arrow aimed at him.
“Mordred run” said Rose.

They ran forward and some guards came running towards them. Rose fell into Mordred, he caught her laid her down and ran forward. They were about to kill him, but he screamed, and the guards got sent back with magic and they all died. Rose noticed that Merlin watched this and didn’t do anything to save Mordred. She saw a flicker of disappointment in his face when Mordred survived. Mordred looked towards her and then ran. Rose looked around she was alone and injured.

She needed to get up and get to the Camelot guards and Arthur and Morgana, it hurt so much. She got up and a few guards came up to her all talking to her at once she backed away from them. She couldn’t process what they were saying, and they looked angry.
“My lady” said one of the guards.
“I want Arthur, stay away from me, I want Arthur” snapped Rose. She sounded childish and she knew she sounded childish, but she didn’t care she was in so much pain.
“Arthur, the lady Rose wants you” called one of the guards. They attempted to help her, but she backed off again.  Arthur came jogging over, looking worried. He moved over to her, and she hugged him. He stiffened then hugged her back. All the adrenaline ebbed away. and she slumped into him. She let herself pass out trusting Arthur to keep her safe.

Rose got back to Camelot and all she could think about was Mordred, had he escaped and was he safe. She wrote him a letter to ask him if he was okay. She was in her chambers; Morgana was sat on her seat, and Rose stood at her window she opened it. She magicked a raven to the window and attached a note to the raven’s leg. She then magicked the raven to deliver the raven to Mordred.

Once the raven flew out of the window and watched it fly out of sight. She turned to Morgana.                                               
“I will teach you to control your magic and I’ll teach you spells” said Rose. Morgana looked at her with surprise and gratitude.                                                                                         
“Thank you, you’re the only person that makes me feel safe,” said Morgana.                                                                       
“I promise you, you are not alone, you will always have me” said Rose. Morgana got up and hugged her tightly, she hugged her back just as tightly “I also don’t want you taking the sleeping draft anymore, I think Gaius is using it to suppress your magical urges”.

Morgana nodded and Rose walked them towards Morgana’s bed. They laid down and Rose pulled Morgana to her so her head was on her shoulder. She stroked her hair and she fell asleep easily. Rose kissed the top of Morgana head before gently laying her down carefully on the bed. She snuck out the room and went straight to see Kilghara. She walked to his cave, and he was sat on his perch it was like he was waiting for her.
“Young one” said Kilghara.
“I need talk to you,” said Rose.

She moved to her usual perch and sat down which she noticed just then was out of sight of the cave entrance. She found it weird the things she randomly noticed when entering a room.
“What is troubling you?” asked Kilghara.
“I met a druid boy in a druid camp,” said Rose. Kilghara gave her a look.
“That is usually where you find a druid boy” said Kilghara. Rose giggled and looked at Kilghara.
“His name is Mordred, we seemed to have a connection,” said Rose.
“Your destinies are entwined, I warned the young warlock to not let you meet him, he is dangerous” said Kilghara.

Rose heard footsteps come towards the cave and someone else was in the cave.
“I need to speak with you, Rose met the druid boy, and she was holding his hand!” said Merlin in a panicked voice. She got up and moved over to him.
“We were holding hands not each other’s throat, you were going to leave him to die! Why” demanded Rose.
“He’s dangerous, he is destined to kill Arthur,” said Merlin.
“He’s my age,” said Rose.
“I warned you to not help the witch Morgana, I warned you not to let Rose meet the druid boy, now you must reap the consequences” said Kilghara in a bored tone. Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What on earth were they on about? She stormed off without saying goodnight. She walked back to her chambers. She wasn’t going to let Mordred kill Arthur.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Rose had met Mordred and had her argument with Kilghara and Merlin. All was forgiven and they were all talking again like normal. Merlin and Rose always fought like brother and sister they would argue then in the next breath be talking about something trivial. Rose was on Patch her horse in the courtyard Morgana and Gwen were getting on their horses. They were going on a journey to Morgana’s father grave. They were being escorted by some guards and knights. Merlin came over to her horse and gave her a smile.
“Stay safe” said Merlin.
“You to” said Rose.  He gave her a smile.
“Be back by nightfall” said Arthur to the guards. They all set off on their journey the guards and knights circled round the three women, and they got into the forest before someone spoke.
“You two seem quiet” said Morgana
“I am fine, just a bit tired,” said Rose.
“I’m fine,” said Gwen. Morgana gave them a cheeky smile and a nod.
“I’ve been wondering if maybe it’s to do with a man or boy,” said Morgana.

Rose gave Morgana a confused look “druid boy” added Morgana into Rose’s head. Rose laughed and smiled at Morgana glad that she was embracing her gifts rather than running away from them.
“When do I get to meet nice men?” asked Gwen. Rose looked at her, oh dear things must not be going well with Arthur. Saying that she was destined to be the once and future queen once Arthur was king. There was no way Uther would allow Gwen to marry Arthur, so it had to be after Uther’s passing. She felt her heart skip a beat when it came to Mordred, they had been sending each other letters on the raven and it was like having a secret friend who was there for her. Yells and shouts pulled her rather rudely out her thoughts as they were attacked by bandits the knights fought against them and the women were pulled of their horses. Rose managed to fend a few of them with her sword but she knew it wasn’t enough they were outnumbered.
“My ladies follow me” said Sir Robert. Before he could lead them anywhere, he was shot in the back. Rose winced at the blood and attempted to follow Morgana’s instructions she ran forward but before she could move another step, she felt a sharp pain to the back of the head, and everything turned black. 

Arthur and Merlin were in the council chambers with everyone else including the king.
“Morgana’s party hasn’t arrived back yet there is no sign of her or Rose,” said Arthur. He looked worried but not as worried as Merlin was. His secret little sister was missing, and the mental messages weren’t going through to Rose, so it was either she was unconscious, out of contact or worse. He refused to let himself panic.
“Send riders to the outlying villages. I want every guard, every sentry looking for them,” said Uther. Arthur nodded and gave orders to the guards and left the council chambers with Merlin.

Rose woke up with one hell of a headache she sat up and immediately regretted it as her head was swimming. She looked around her surroundings, she was in a bright coloured tent. She could hear shouting outside she got up and wobbly walked to the entrance of the tent.
“How could you do this you bought me back the servant! She’s useless to us” shouted a man loudly he grabbed Gwen’s face and she stood favouring one leg.
“We still have the lady Morgana’s ward” said another bandit from nearby.
“Get her” said the one in charge. She walked out the tent herself not fancying anymore rough handling she went and stood next to Gwen and stood tall even though her head was killing her.
“Could you stop shouting,” said Rose. The one in charge gave a dirty look before giving Gwen Morgana’s clothes.
“Put them on” said the one in charge.
“What are you going to do to me” asked Gwen. Rose took Gwen’s hand and squeezed it hoping to give her that form of comfort.
“Hengist has never met the lady Morgana before, for all you know you could be Uther Pendragon ward, she can’t be her, she’s too young” said the guy in charge.
“I will not impersonate my mistress!” said Gwen. The leader grabbed Rose and held a sword to her throat.
“Do it or I will kill her where she stands!” shouted the leader. Gwen nodded quickly and took the clothes.
“I’ll wear them, just let her go,” said Gwen. The leader pushed her to Gwen, and they were both taken to the tent. Rose sat down on the mat and felt at her head. Gwen got changed and then came over to her and sat with her.  Rose put her head on Gwen’s shoulder.
“What happened? Did Morgana get away” Asked Rose.

Gwen nodded and wrapped her arms around Rose. Rose took comfort from the warmth of being hugged by Gwen.
“She got away she is going to get help; you’re going to be okay,” said Gwen.
“My head hurts,” said Rose.
“Here let me take a look” asked Gwen. She got behind Rose and looked at her head. She prodded at a part of her head which made Rose wince in pain “you have a dry cut, and you have a bruise”. Rose nodded and laid down on the matt and wrapped a blanket around herself.
“Merlin” called Rose in her head. Nothing came back she sighed they must be out of range of contact. She fell asleep.

Arthur and Morgana walked into the council chambers. Uther hugged her and held her close to him happy to see that she was alive.
“It’s such a relief to see you safe. I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone hurting you,” said Uther.
“They still have Rose and Gwen; you need to send help Rose was injured hit round the head, she was unresponsive, and I escaped to get her help,” said Morgana. Merlin’s heart sunk to his stomach as he heard that she was injured no wonder she wasn’t answering his mental calls.
“I believe they were Mercian. We've received reports that Hengist has crossed the border,” said Arthur.
“Hengist” said Uther.
“You must send a rescue party,” said Morgana.
“If Hengist is holding her, it would take a small army to rescue your maid and your ward!” said Uther matter of fact sort of way.

Merlin gritted his teeth at the suggestion of abandoning Rose he would go and get even if he had to go completely alone.
“We can’t abandon them,” said Morgana.
“How many men would you sacrifice for a maid and a child is probably already dead,” said Uther. Merlin twitched at that comment. He dug into his magic and felt Rose’s life force. She was still alive he could sense it.
“As many as it take, I came here to get help for Rose she is my ward, I promised Hunnith I would take care of her! Gwen gave herself up so that I could live escape, I owe her my life” said Morgana angrily.
“It is sad about Rose, they’ll be honoured,” said Uther.
“I don’t want them honoured I demand they get rescued, the sooner we get Rose the sooner she can get help, Gwen is more than a maid she is my friend and Rose is like a daughter, please save them,” said Morgana. 
“A servant and an injured child would be no use to these people, chances are they are already dead” said Uther sadly.

Morgana shook her head and looked around the room for support from anyone.
“Please, we can’t give up hope, Rose is a child, Arthur please I’m begging you do something” said Morgana tears were pricking her eyes as she desperately looked for anyone that would get her ward and friend back to her safe and sound.
“My father is right there is nothing we can do” said Arthur.
“How can you say that, how can you live with yourselves all off you” screeched Morgana. Gaius escorted her out of the room.

Rose woke up sometime later and they were moved from the tent and were put on horses. They were taken to a castle Rose felt even worse than before her head was swimming and she felt sick. She wanted to just go back to Camelot and see Morgana and Merlin. She just hoped that help was coming but it didn’t feel like it. They arrived into the castle and Rose took Gwen’s hand to give her a bit of comfort as they were stood in front a scary looking man.
“Kendrick, I was worried you had got lost” said Hengist.
“May I present the lady Morgana and her ward the lady Rose,” said Kendrick.

Hengist looked down at Rose and attempted to stroke her hair, but she moved her head away from his hand.
“She is barely a lady, she’s a child” said Hengist.
“I demand you release us at once!” demanded Gwen moving so Rose was behind her back.
“Once Uther pays your ransom” said Hengist. Rose suddenly felt a wave of dizziness she wasn’t feeling too good her head was killing her and she just want to lay down. She swayed on the spot as the adults spoke making sure she stayed stood up. They got taken to a dungeon and Rose looked at Gwen.
“You need to sit down, your dead on your feet, how long have you been dizzy” asked Gwen. She helped Rose sit on the one bed that was in the dungeon.
“It came on suddenly,” said Rose.

Gwen did some checks on Rose looking into her eyes and checking on her head. She gasped as she looked at the head wound “what’s the matter?”. Gwen ripped up some of her own dress and wrapped it around Rose’s head. It made her head sting and Rose groaned.
“Your head has got worse, you have a bump and it’s purple, I think it’s infected” said Gwen. Rose appreciated her honesty. Gwen sat next her, and Rose laid down, so her head was in her lap feeling exhausted. Rose didn’t remember falling asleep so when she had been woken up sometime later, she was confused. Two guards came into the cell.
“Oi you two get up you are going for dinner” said one of the guards. Gwen got up and went towards the door.
“I’m not hungry,” said Rose. The guard came over to her and dragged her to her feet and shook her.
“That was not a request!” shouted the guard. He pulled her towards the door and Rose’s dizzy and nauseous state made her feel weak and made her stumble.
“Let go, I’ll walk on my own” said Rose she had a slur to her voice which she wished she hadn’t as she had been trying to sound menacing and strong. She hated feeling so weak and unwell it was taking her back to when she was dying nearly a year ago. It scared her being so dependent on people.

The guards let go of her and she stumbled as they lead both Gwen and Rose to the dining room. They were sat down at a long table and the smell of food in front of her turned her stomach, the meat was raw. She looked ahead as everyone shouted around her Gwen held her hand under the table and Rose would squeeze it every so often to ground herself.
“The lady Morgana and her child are bored; we must entertain our royal guests” said Hengist getting up. Rose groaned she just wanted to lay down not be entertained.  It was probably going to a bear or fight or something. Hengist nodded to someone and the cage door was opened. Two men came into the arena she felt Gwen tense when one of them faced them he was good lucking and he oozed nobility and he had a kind face “Only one of you will leave the cage alive”.

Rose watched them fight and was interested by a move it was a very Arthur move he had taught her that. Maybe he had been a knight once. She carried on watching Gwen winced every so often and seemed to care about the wellbeing of this man and soon the good looking one won. He spared the opponent and left the cage to stand in front of the main table, Hengist chucked a bag of money at him “What’s your name?”.
“My name is Lancelot” said Lancelot. Rose noticed that Gwen seemed to tense again when he said his name.
“You have proved yourself to be a skill full warrior, you have impressed the lady Morgana and the lady Rose” said Hengist.
“My ladies” said Lancelot. He was giving Gwen loving looks. Rose had the urge to tell him to back off because this maid was destined for someone else, but she didn’t because that would be weird.
“Next time do not expect or give mercy, release the Wildereon” said Hengist.

Rose looked around Lancelot to see that the cage door was shut and the door leading out was opened and an awful creature came out. She stood up. Gwen attempted to pull her back down, but Rose batted her away.
“No” shouted Rose. She ducked down and went under the table attempting to help the man in the cage once she was on the other side of the table she was grabbed by Lancelot, and he hugged her holding her head, so she wasn’t able to see or hear it. Soon it was over, and she was let go. Lancelot and Gwen exchanged a look at each other. Hengist came around the table to stand in front of her. He roughly grabbed her and pinned her over the table, so she was facing him. the impact of it made her hit the back of her head on the table her head exploded in pain, and she had black spots in her vision.
“Do that again and it’ll be you next!” shouted Hengist in her face. Rose felt fear go through her as he screamed in her face.
“Sorry, let go, I’m sorry” begged Rose. She didn’t care how weak she was in so much pain and it was worse than ever before. He was pinning her down deep breathing into her face.

Rose put her hands on his shoulders and attempted to push him off her when that didn’t work, her magic bubbled at the surface and she let it not caring at this point she put her hand back on his shoulder and her magic burnt his skin and she kicked him. Hengist let go of Rose quickly and Rose straightened up immediately was about to fall but Lancelot caught her and picked her up and held her in his arms.
“Take them to the dungeon! Separate cells, punishment for the child’s attack” shouted Hengist looking at his burnt shoulders in astonishment. She was unsure of what he did because she was feeling dizzy and tired. Maybe doing magic wasn’t the best idea.
“But she’s a child, she’s injured!” said Gwen.
“Dungeons now!” shouted Hengist. Rose felt herself pass out as she was being walked out the room.

Rose was feeling worse when she woke up the next time. She was in the dungeon still, so they hadn’t been rescued yet. She saw a man with black hair sitting next to her wiping her head of sweat. Her vision was blurred.
“Merlin?” asked Rose hopefully.
“No, it’s me Lancelot, they separated you from Gwen after you used magic on Hengist” said Lancelot. Rose attempted to reach up to touch her head, but Lancelot moved her hand away. He kept his hand on her hand and Rose squeezed it as a form of comfort. He squeezed her hand back and gave her a kind smile.
“Is Gwen okay? Did she see my magic?” asked Rose.
“Yeah she’s fine and no she didn’t, she thinks you kicked him and you’re getting punished for that, just stay calm, I’ll get you both out of here alive” said Lancelot. A jolt went through her head and she winced.
“My head hurts” said Rose.

She slowly sat up. It was very weird she was used to feeling it on her neck, but it wasn’t there. Maybe it was up, she touched around her hair. It was messy and was sticking up at the back giving it the illusion of it being short “my hair”. She let some tears fall down her face.
“It’s alright, don’t worry about that,” said Lancelot. He pulled her to him and rubbed her back in circles as a comfort.
“My head hurts and now my hair is a mess, does it look bad?” asked Rose.
“No, it doesn’t look too bad, you look very similar to Merlin though with your hair like that,” said Lancelot.
“I want to go home,” said Rose.
“I will not let you die I promise,” said Lancelot. A jolt in her head made her feel sleepy and she let herself fall asleep in Lancelot’s arms. Probably not the right thing for her destiny as he was in love with Gwen and she was destined to marry Arthur but Rose the child feeling ridiculously unwell thought it was for the best.

Lancelot was at his wits end he was meant to be freeing Gwen from her cell, but he couldn’t wake up Rose she was completely unresponsive and deathly pale and sick looking. He stared at the child on the bed. Her dress was dirty and ripped, she had a rag around her head over her now cut hair. She did look like Merlin the more he looked at her the short hair, the skinny but lanky body and the magic, it was like the magic was almost instinctive. The only difference being that she was smaller than Merlin.  He attempted again to get her to wake up, but she stayed stubbornly unconscious. He picked her up and he ran to Gwen’s cell and opened the door.
“She won’t wake up” said Lancelot as she ran over to him. They ran out the door and made it to a tunnel “take Rose and run down the tunnel it’ll take you to the trees outside the castle”.
“I can’t leave you,” said Gwen. Lancelot gave Rose to Gwen, and she took her.
“It’s alright you have shown me love, you reminded me of who I am,” said Lancelot. Gwen looked at Rose then looked to Lancelot then ran down the tunnel. She ran with Rose in her arm. Until they got caught and taken back to the cage. They were pushed into the cage. Gwen and Lancelot were sat back-to-back Rose was laid in the corner of the cage.
“Release the Wildereon!” shouted Hengist.

The cage opened and the Wildereon came out the tunnel sniffing at them it screamed, and someone climbed over the cage to protect them. He removed his scarf and everyone in the cage except Rose because she was unconscious was happy to see.
“Arthur” said Gwen. He uncut Lancelot and Gwen’s ropes and pulled Gwen behind him so they were protecting Gwen and Rose.
“What are you doing here?” asked Arthur.
“Saving Gwen, you,” said Lancelot.
“Likewise, and Rose off course,” said Arthur. He gave Rose a worried look. “Stay behind us, we have to get to the tunnels”. Gwen picked up Rose and cradled her as she stayed behind both men.
“MERLIN!” shouted Arthur. He was on all fours “don’t sit there cowering lets go”. Merlin ran over and climbed over the cage and landed on the floor. Arthur pulled him up and put him behind him. Merlin took Rose from Gwen.
“You two go, I’ll hold them back,” said Lancelot. Gwen nodded and ran with Arthur. Merlin stood with Lancelot and bought the gate down with a spell trapping Hengist.

Rose was waking up her head felt like it was floating, she felt a load better than she had before. She was wrapped up in something soft, but she still felt a bit cold though she managed to her eyes opened. She was outside in a wooded area she was wrapped up in a red cloak. She sat up and looked around Merlin was sat near her.
“Rose, here drink this” said Merlin giving her some water. She drank it slowly and it tasted good she never realised how thirsty she was. She finished the water and gave him a smile.
“I am so glad to see you,” said Rose.
“How are you feeling,” said Merlin.

He pulled her into a hug and kept her in the hug so she was cuddled up into him. 
“Tired, I have a headache and I am confused, what happened” asked Rose.
“Me and Arthur came and rescued you and Gwen, I healed you,” said Merlin.
“I was scared, they cut my hair because I used magic on Hengist” said Rose sadly. She put her hand to her head, and she felt her head it was a lot better and had been made neater.
“I fixed it, with Gwen’s help of course,” said Merlin. Rose squeezed him again. He squeezed back. She then moved away from Merlin and looked around the campsite. Arthur and Gwen were laying at the same side of the campsite and Lancelot was packing his stuff up.
“Lancelot, you’re not going are you” asked Rose.

She had got to know him well the only voice she heard that wasn’t shouting or screaming at her for the last few days. He came over to them after he finished packing his bag. He squatted down so he in front of Rose and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I do need to leave, Uther doesn’t like me much, do me a favour take care of yourself and them” said Lancelot pointing at Gwen and Arthur “most of all look after him” he nodded towards Merlin.
“Thank you for looking after me, I hope to see you again soon” said Rose. Lancelot kissed the top of her head before getting up to shake Merlin’s arm before heading off into the woods. Merlin got up and went over to the fire stoking it up again. Rose had so much going through her head and it was so strange. She was free from her captivity, and she was free from Hengist’s clutches. She was going home to see Gaius and Morgana. Merlin sat by the fire cross legged, Rose went over to him and sat down next to him.
“Merlin” said Rose. She felt like her emotions were getting the better of her, the relief with the extra fear was making her feel emotional, she let out a sob. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on to his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder. He rubbed her back in circles.
“Your safe now” said Merlin in a soothing voice. Rose nodded and let Merlin sooth her until her eyes became heavy and she fell asleep.

Rose woke up some time later to see that the camp had been packed away. She got up feeling ten times better than she had done in the last few days. She went over to Arthur and snuck up behind him tapping him on the back. He jumped and turned around to face her.
“You’re alive then,” said Arthur.
“I am, thank you for coming,” said Rose. He went to shake her hand, but she swatted it away and gave him a hug around the middle. He patted her head and hugged her back.
“Let’s get you back to Morgana before she turns up herself,” said Arthur. He took her hand, and they were led to the horses. There were only two horses.
“I don’t mind walking,” said Rose. At that comment Arthur picked her up and put her on the horse before she could complain.
“She’ll need to have someone with her on the horse” said Merlin.
“Okay, so Gwen get on this one, I’ll get behind Rose” said Arthur.
“I’ll walk,” said Merlin. Everyone got on their horses except Merlin which made her worry about it. Arthur got behind Rose and got hold of the reins. She leant back into him making herself comfortable.

The ride was a comfortable one they didn’t stop and soon they were in Camelot and Rose had never been so glad to be back. Merlin helped Rose down and she let him lead her to Gaius. She was happy to see him.
“I’m so happy to see you,” said Gaius. He bypassed Merlin and hugged Rose. Rose hugged back before being moved over to a bench. Rose was checked over by Gaius.
“Is she alright Gaius? When we found her, she had an infection in her head, she looked weak, I used yarrow and rose petals and my own magic” said Merlin anxiously.
“You did a good job, she is all but healed, just a bit of exhaustion, did he cut your hair as a punishment?” asked Gaius.
“Yes, Hengist decided to cut my hair to scare Gwen” said Rose. There was knock at the door and they looked round to see Arthur standing in the doorway.
“Morgana wants her child back, come on Rose” said Arthur.
“Does that mean I have to walk” said Rose with a groan she was so tired; and she had to go up and down stairs to go back to her chambers.
“Come on, up you get,” said Arthur. He stood her up and then picked her up. She was never to thankful to be picked up in her life. He carried her from the room and to her guardian.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been a few months since Hengist had taken Gwen and Rose hostage and they were rescued. Rose kept her eyes on Arthur and Gwen to see if anything was going on between them. It seemed to be slow burning. Rose was walking through the town with Merlin and Gaius they were collecting pots. Rose enjoyed helping them it helped her keep her normal.
“Keep up Merlin we have a busy day,” said Gaius.
“Every day is a busy day; you and Arthur work me to the bone,” said Merlin.
“Do stop moaning, at least the work is interesting” joked Rose.

Rose got distracted as she felt a very powerful magic nearby and a nasty smell. She looked around to see if they were near some horse dung, but they weren’t. A man came over to them and grabbed Merlin’s arm. Rose glared at the man he looked creepy, and he can’t just grab at Merlin’s arm. She stepped forward to intervene.
“I need an audience with the king,” said the man. He put something in Merlin’s hand. Rose pulled Merlin out of the man’s grip and Gaius took the thing out of Merlin’s hand.
“You need to go through the usual channels,” said Gaius. He looked at the seal in his hand looked at the man. “Where did you get this it’s from the house of Tregor”.
“It’s not mine,” said the man.

The strong smell got worse then and a woman stood in front of them a squatty woman. The smell seemed to be coming from her and a powerful magic.
“It belongs to me,” said a croaky voice. She revealed her face and Rose gasped in horror. It was grey and purple with tusks or fangs maybe both. It had disgust breath and smelt of decay and rotten food. Gaius bowed to the creature so did Merlin. Rose stared at it then ran away as fast as she could.

She tried to escape never seeing that thing again. She ran into the castle and Morgana saw her as she attempted to go to her chambers.
“We have been summoned to the throne room,” said Morgana. Before Rose could argue Morgana took her hand and they went to the throne room. She sat down on the throne next to Morgana and held her hand. She had a nasty sick feeling in her lower stomach. Gaius and Merlin came and stood in the room presenting the scary looking thing and the creepy man. Rose was surprised why was no one arresting that thing. Then she remembered she could see through enchantments and magic creatures since becoming high priestess. She was probably disguised as a pretty woman or something.

They spoke but Rose blocked it out focusing on throwing up in the middle of the room like a child. She had already run away from it like a child. He kissed its hand. The creature moved closer to the royal family and the smell got even stronger. She twitched as she felt sweat bead on her forehead. Morgana gave a concern look.  She gagged involuntarily and everyone turned to look at her.
“I am going to be sick,” said Rose.

She put her hand over her mouth and nose and ran past the disgusting creature. Gaius met her in the doorway and directed her into a room with a chamber pot. She immediately threw up into the chamber pot while Gaius rubbed circles into her back.
“Breathe through it, you’re alright” said Gaius soothingly. She finished and sat back against the wall embarrassed and exhausted from the vomiting.
“Lady Catrina is a magical creature,” said Rose.
“What?” said Gaius. He gave her a very confused look.
“She is horrible looking; she smells like decay and rotten fruit” said Rose weakly. There was a knock at the door and Rose looked up to see Merlin was holding a goblet of water.

After episode of vomiting Gaius had sent her to her chambers to sleep and rest. He hadn’t told Merlin yet about the magical creature, but Gaius had reassured Rose he’ll get some evidence together. Rose slept for a long time and was woken up by Morgana.
“Are you feeling better?” asked Morgana
 “I wasn’t ill, I need to tell you something Catrina is a magical creature,” said Rose.
“What?” said Morgana.
“Since becoming high priestess I can see through enchantments and magical creature disguises, she is a disgusting creature that smells awful,” said Rose. Morgana wrapped her arm around Rose got on the bed with her. She put her head on Morgana’s shoulder.
“I believe you,” said Morgana.
“Thank you,” said Rose.

Morgana got Rose ready for dinner before Rose sat and watched Morgana get herself ready. Soon they left the room and went to the dining room. Uther sat at the edge of the table as usual. The creature sat next to Uther. Morgana sat next to the creature; Arthur sat opposite the creature. Rose sat herself a few seats away from Morgana away from the smell of the creature. The sickness feeling came back, but she was hungry. She was served food and she stared at it.
“Well, this is wonderful” said the creature even her voice so disgust. She ate her food slowly only breathing through her mouth. The creature was flirting with Uther and Uther was flirting back, she gagged again involuntarily quieter than before. The troll looked across at her.
“I wish to retire” said Rose quickly.
“Off course,” said Morgana. Rose got up and Morgana got up taking her hand and walking her out.

Over the next day she avoided Catrina as much as possible for her stomach stake mainly. She wondered if she knew Rose saw through the enchantments. She busied herself with training with Arthur and reading books with Gaius. It was night-time and Rose walked through the castle on her way to her chambers. She saw Catrina go towards the tunnels underneath the castle her first concern was she was going after Kilghara then she gave herself a moment to think it through. Surely a dragon would beat this creature. She followed her to the tunnels and Merlin came up behind her.

They followed the creature down to the tunnels. They looked around the corner covering their noses in disgust to see the creature was lying in a bed of dung. They ran straight to Gaius, and they sat down in chairs facing him. Merlin explained what he saw.
“I am so glad you have seen and smelt it to, shows I am not completely crazy,” said Rose.
“Can you see the creature in her true form” asked Merlin. Rose nodded and Merlin took her hand and squeezed it.
“No wonder you were sick,” said Merlin.
“What you saw not many people have seen, she is a troll,” said Gaius.
“Hang on trolls live in caves, what’s this one doing prancing about in Camelot” asked Rose in disgust.

She remembered reading about trolls in her book, and they were so annoying.
“Trolls are greedy. Lady Catrina's like the rest of her kind; she lusts after wealth and power” explained Gaius.
“She’s after Uther, she was being friendly with him over dinner,” said Rose. They both looked at her. Gaius got up and started to walk towards the door “where are you going?”
“Going to tell Uther the truth,” said Gaius. Rose laughed. Uther wasn’t going to believe a word they were going to say.
“You’re going to tell him she’s a troll” said Merlin who was also stifling his laughter.
“That is exactly what I am going to do,” said Gaius.
“Good luck” said Rose and Merlin at the same time. He turned around and gave them both a look shaking his head.
“Thank you” said Gaius before leaving the room. Rose got up and went over to Gaius’s many books, she picked a book and chucked it Merlin’s direction. He caught it and she got a book for herself before sitting down at the table. She opened the book and flipped through the pages until she found.
“Troll magic is powerful,” said Rose.

Rose read the book for a bit look before heading to her chambers with book. She slept for a bit before waking up early in the morning. She went about her day reading through Gaius’s books. She sat on the floor cross legged in the corner of Gaius’s chambers reading it.
“We need to reveal who she is,” said Rose.
“I agree, at this point in time your magic is needed to reveal her,” said Gaius.
“But she’s never away from the king,” said Rose.
“Are you asking us to do magic in front of the king,” said Merlin. Gaius nodded and gave them both an apologetic look.
“The only reason we know she is a troll is because of Rose, then you Merlin seeing her with your own eyes if they see her then they can’t deny it,” said Gaius.

They carried on reading for the rest of the day and into the night. At some point she had curled up in ball in the corner half reading half dozing. Gaius fell asleep with his head in book.
“Gaius, Rose, I found it,” said Merlin. Rose immediately woke up and came over to the table. 
“The spell of revelations, that’s mainly for objects not living things,” said Gaius.
“It’s worth a go,” said Rose. She read and memorized the spell. They were summoned to the throne room where everyone was stood around. Rose concentrated on the troll and went to the opposite side of the room to Merlin to double the power. Uther announced their engagement.
“Hierste Paet Iecen Sona” muttered both Rose and Merlin at the same time. The troll started to grimace in pain and smoke at the top of the head unfortunately she was strong. Uther dismissed them and Rose just stared at Uther. Rose decided it was time to speak to Arthur. He went in that direction and found him about to enter his chambers after the announcement.
“Arthur, fancy doing some training?” asked Rose. Arthur nodded and they both went into the chambers.
“I just need to get my stuff together then we’ll go,” said Arthur.

Rose sat down at Arthur’s desk while Arthur changed his jacket and took his sword from the side and put it in his sheave on his belt. Rose watched with interest he didn’t seem too affected by it but as Rose had got to know him, she noticed he liked to train to get rid of some his anger. He wasn’t an express your feelings kind of person.
“So, you’re getting a new step-mother,” said Rose.
“Yeah, I have never seen him so happy,” said Arthur. He sat down on his bed. Merlin walked in then and looked at him carefully “yes”.
“Arthur I am going to tell you something, it’s not going to be easy,” said Merlin.

Rose put her hand to face. Rose was going to ease it into conversation during training not now out of the blue.
“Right” said Arthur. Looking at Rose’s reaction and Merlin with confusion.
“It’s to do with the lady Catrina,” said Merlin. Rose was not ready for Arthur’s reaction.
“You’re not using my chambers to spy on her again,” said Arthur.
“Trust me he has seen enough,” said Rose.

Arthur laughed looking at Rose with an amused look.
“I don’t doubt he did” laughed Arthur sarcastically “not that I am encouraging spying on people” added Arthur quickly seemingly reminded that Rose in fact young and shouldn’t get ideas from Merlin.
“Arthur, she’s a troll,” said Merlin. Arthur laughed and Rose couldn’t help but laugh as well. He said it so casually like every person is a troll at some point or other.
“She’s not that bad, Rose go to the training ground” said Arthur. Rose did as she was told and left the room towards the training ground. On her way however she walked straight into the troll and Jonas. Jonas grabbed her and she pulled into the guest’s chambers.
“I know you see my true form, priestess” said the troll in a mocking voice. Her breath absolutely stank worse than her usual odour.
“Let me go,” said Rose. The troll breathed in Rose’s face a green mist. Rose’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she passed out.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose woke up to the smell of herbs and dung. She was struggling to wake up properly all she could do was smell and soon her hearing came back to. She wasn’t in any pain now just felt groggy. What had the troll done?
“What have they done to her?” asked Merlin’s voice he sounded nervous.
“There is a troll infection in her,” said Gaius.
“What? Can you save her?” said Merlin.
“I have given her a potion that will help her out, she has to do the rest of the work,” said Gaius. Rose heard that and pushed herself to open her eyes which she did. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She was in Gaius’s chambers on the patient bed.

Merlin and Gaius were sat on a stool next to the bed.
“What happened?” croaked Rose. Gaius gave her a goblet of water.
“You were used as bait to get me to the tunnels under Camelot where the trolls sleep, they trapped us in the cave, you were looking ill so I broke us out of the cave,” said Merlin.
“We now have a troll queen,” said Gaius. Rose sat up and swung her legs off the bed.
“Do people know I was attacked by the troll,” said Rose.
“Uther, Arthur and the knights think you have sweating sickness, Morgana knows the truth about the troll,” said Merlin.
“She is awake now; you should go to work,” said Gaius.
“I’ll go see Morgana,” said Rose. Rose got up and walked to the door. She walked to her chambers and was happy to see that Morgana was at her desk making shapes with the flames in the candles her eyes flashing gold every time her shape changed.

Morgana looked up and smiled. She got up and ran at Rose giving her a hug. Rose hugged back around the middle.  They sat talking about the troll for a while until some guards came in unannounced.
“Is Merlin in here?” asked the guards. They started to search the room.
“No, he’s at work, where he usually is at this time,” said Rose. She got up and looked out the window the guards were searching everywhere.
“We have an order to arrest him, by the king,” said another guard.
“Oi get out my wardrobe, I don’t keep man servants in there” snapped Morgana. The guards were satisfied by the search and left the room. Rose got up and ran from the room, her main priority, warn Merlin.
“Merlin” called Rose in her head.
“Rose” called Merlin back into her head he sounded frantic.
“The king has given the order to arrested you” said Rose in her head to Merlin.
“Don’t worry Arthur told me, I am hiding in a barrel in my chambers” said Merlin into her head. She smiled and sighed a sigh of relieve before heading to the council chambers.

She stood against the pillar while Uther and the troll sat on the thrones. Arthur and a few of the knights were stood in front of them. Uther got up to face Arthur.
“He has got away from us” said Arthur in solemn voice.
“You’re very quick to give up though aren’t you” said the troll in an angry voice.
“That is because he is long gone by now, he is headed towards Cenred’s kingdom,” said Arthur.
“How can you be sure,” said Uther.
“Merlin grew up in Ealdor if he was to escape to anywhere it would be to there” said Arthur he looked annoyed at Uther and the queen.
“It would appear someone informed him we were coming” said one of the guards.
“Permission to speak my lord” said Jonas his voice sent shivers down her spine she felt grim every time he spoke.
“Permission granted,” said Uther.
“I did see the lady Rose speaking with the boy,” said Jonas.

Rose looked at him and glared at him off course those two were seen together. They were always seen to together it was nothing new. Rose decided to bring some logic into this craziness that was happening before her.
“I would like to ask; how do you know it was Merlin? Because he was with me last night after I came down with a mild bout of sweating sickness,” said Rose.
“You helped him escape, it was her that tipped him off, you must have concocted this sweating sickness to give him an alibi,” said the troll. Rose looked at Uther and a necklace around his neck was radiating magic from it.
“This will not do, you must have helped Merlin steal the seal, guards arrest the lady Rose,” said Uther. Rose didn’t fight back against the guards let them restrain her and take her from the room. All she could hear from the council chambers was Arthurs protests.

Camelot was crazy Rose decided after sitting in the dungeon cell for a long stretch of time. She couldn’t even see the sun in her cell so it could be night-time, and she wouldn’t even know. She sat on the bed, and it took her a while to doze off. She was woken up some time later Arthur opening her cell door. She looked at him he carried a plate of bread and cheese. He shut the cell and sat down next to Rose giving her the food.
“Thank you,” said Rose.
“You are not getting released, if it makes you feel better, I have been disinherited,” said Arthur.
“Are you okay? Why?” said Rose.
“Not really, I argued with him about you and the new taxes,” said Arthur.
“He’s enchanted, you can’t pretend he’s acting normal,” said Rose.

Arthur wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she leant her head against his chest. He made no movement to knock her off, so she rubbed her face against his soft shirt. He squeezed her shoulder.
“I am starting to believe you,” said Arthur. Rose smiled and ate the food that she given by Arthur.
“How’s Morgana?” asked Rose.
“She’s upset, nearly got herself arrested herself,” said Arthur.
“When will I be released?” asked Rose, she hoped it would be soon her hair was a mess and her dress was dirty. She needed a bath.
“I don’t know, they think you helped Merlin steal a queen’s seal, it doesn’t look good,” said Arthur. He got up and got her up. “I am going to deal with this I promise”. He hugged her and she hugged him back. He left her in the cell with her thoughts.

Rose sat in the cell for a long time waiting for something to happen. She had someone deliver her some breakfast, lunch and dinner she was on her own for a whole day as she was looking around when Kilghara got in touch.
“Rose, why haven’t you been to see me the last few days” said Kilghara’s voice in her head she was looked around and smiled. No one tell Kilghara but Rose had completely forgotten about him over the last few days. Rose told Kilghara what had happened over the last few days in her head. She could hear him chuckling in her head.
“This isn’t funny I am in the cells for treason” said Rose in her head to Kilghara.
“Break out and come sit in my cave” said Kilghara to Rose.

Rose looked at the man that was watching her was asleep. She stared at him in confusion. He must underestimate her she got the keys from his belt using magic. She sent a deeper sleeping spell into the guards nearby before letting herself out the cell. She snuck out the cell and around the castle until she got to Kilghara’s chambers.  She sat down on her usual rock.
“I made it,” said Rose.
“I worried you had forsaken me” said Kilghara.
“I couldn’t do that, so Uther married a troll, thing is though she is hoodwinking everyone, how do you break troll magic” asked Rose.
“She is using a potion to protect her identity” said Kilghara. Rose yawned and looked at Kilghara.
“The troll is so gross,” said Rose.
“Dragons and trolls used to be allies, after what this one has done to you, I am going to have to change my mind” said Kilghara.
“You would do that for me,” said Rose.

She felt so touched, sometimes she worried her friendship with Kilghara was a bit one sided.
“Yes, I would, we are kin, and you are my only company” said Kilghara. Rose yawned again and Kilghara sent warm air into the face which helped her to relax. “Sleep”. Rose nodded and curled up and fell asleep in the cave knowing Kilghara will look after her. She sat against the wall of the cave Kilghara was resting above so Rose was entertaining herself with a rock she would transform it into stuff before turning it back to rock. Don’t judge her she was bored out her brain. She heard footsteps come into the cave she looked up and smiled to see it was Merlin. Kilghara woke up and went to his usual perch.
“I had a feeling you would be down here” said Merlin with a smile to Rose.
“Yes, unfortunately Merlin I am chained in here” said Kilghara.  In a sarcastic tone.

Rose gave him a sympathetic smile.
“I told him about the troll,” said Rose.
“Well now everyone can see it, except Uther he’s been sharing a bed with it and they sit and eat dung together” said Merlin. Rose gagged at that. Kilghara breathed warm air through her hair which made the nausea go away. He then began to laugh hysterically.
“Is it a public affair” laughed Kilghara.
“This isn’t funny” said Merlin in annoyance.
“Oh, it is, it is, my jailor marrying a troll” laughed Kilghara.
“If we keep a queen on the throne that is troll, Arthur and Gwen won’t be able to take the throne, Albion will never be born,” said Rose.

Merlin stared at Rose with a questioning look.
“Gwen takes the throne,” said Merlin.
“I’ll explain later,” said Rose.
“Yes of course, you are right” said Kilghara.
“How do we break the spell,” said Merlin.
“You must make Uther cry tears of true sorrow and remorse” said Kilghara.
“How do I do that?” asked Merlin
“Don’t ask me, I say he has no remorse or heart” said Kilghara.
“Right Rose stay here the guards have been told to kill you on sight,” said Merlin.
“Charming” joked Rose. Merlin thanked Kilghara before heading out the cave.
“Merlin, you promised to set me free, my advice isn’t unconditional forever” said Kilghara. Merlin nodded before running out the room.

Rose looked up at Kilghara made herself comfortable on the floor again. She was confused about a lot of her destiny.
“What allies will be divided” asked Rose.
“I cannot say right now” said Kilghara.
“Is it to do with the fact you didn’t want Morgana to know the full extent of her powers” asked Rose. “Yes, she will be become dangerous to Merlin’s destiny” said Kilghara.
“If we show Morgana kindness maybe she will choose good,” said Rose.
“Your naivety will be your downfall one day” joked

Kilghara he gave a look that Rose took as the conversation was over. Rose looked around the cave and saw his chains.
“I don’t understand why you won’t let me set you free,” said Rose.
“It is Merlin’s promise to let me go” said Kilghara. Rose nodded and sat back against the cave wall. She couldn’t help worrying about what Merlin was going to do to make Uther cry. They heard a crash from upstairs in the castle.
“I am going to check on them,” said Rose. Kilghara nodded.
“Be careful” said Kilghara. She nodded.

Before running up the stairs two at a time she managed to keep herself hidden until she went into Arthur’s chamber. Uther was unconscious, Merlin was on the floor, and Arthur was on his back with the troll standing over him. Rose ran forward and stabbed Catrina in the back with her sword. She stepped back as Catrina fell backwards. Arthur looked at Rose before hugging her keeping her to him as they watched the troll die. Uther woke up and looked up to see Rose. He seemed to be back to normal. He came over to them and hugged them both.
“Rose, I am so sorry,” said Uther.
“Am I free to go then?” asked Rose with humour in her voice.
“Or are you still sentencing her to death” joked Arthur. They all stood staring at each other before they started laughing.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose was sat in the council chambers sat in her seat next Morgana. A woman had demanded an audience with the king. Something to do with magic and horses. Was there ever a day that things don’t go wrong in Camelot.
“I was working on the hill just outside the citadel, I saw a horse in the smoke it was magic, sire,” said the woman. Rose let her eyes fall on Merlin he looked shifty and that was Merlin’s thing he liked making shapes with smoke.
“Are you sure it was magic,” said Uther.
“I swear it sire, I feared for my life,” said the woman.
“Could it have been a trick of the light,” said Arthur.

Rose stared at Merlin even more. If it was him she had to be careful because it meant all the magic users in the castle would hyper alert on magic usage.
“Was this you?” asked Rose into Merlin’s head.
“Yes, but it was just a horse” said Merlin into Rose’s head. Rose rolled her eyes before coming back into the conversation. Concentrating on the conversation, there was more at stake now. The woman was escorted out leaving just the members of the court and the servants.
“This is getting ridiculous” said Uther in an angry tone.
“I’ll make sure they are caught,” said Arthur. Uther looked angry, it had been a few months since the troll incident, and it was making Uther even angrier at magic. Rose would have pointed out that a horse in smoke was different to a troll.
“No, Stronger methods are called for. Send for the Witchfinder,” said Uther.

Rose gasped her heart jumping into her throat, Morgana flinched, she searched in the seat next to her and grabbed Morgana’s hand. She had met the witchfinder before and he was scary. He only came to stay for the night in Ealdor while she was ill just after Merlin left for Camelot. He had ended up staying a few more days accusing people of witchcraft and sorcery including Rose. Hunnith, Will and Mathew chased him out of Rose’s house denying the magic and town reminding him magic was legal in Cenred’s kingdom.
“Are you sure that necessary for a potential misunderstanding,” said Rose.
“Yeah she has a point” said Gaius.
“He is a trusted alley, Rose, Gaius, his help will be helpful,” said Uther. Gaius bowed and gave up. The council was dismissed, and Rose made an excuse to go after Merlin and Gaius.

Rose stormed straight to Gaius’s and Merlin’s chambers. She opened the door and stormed straight over to Merlin and started hitting him on the arm.
“You idiot! What were you thinking?” shouted Rose. She stopped hitting him and gave him a worried look.
“I wasn’t thinking” said Merlin honestly.
“You need to be careful; he is a force to be reckoned with,” said Gaius.
“To be fair he was scared off by Hunnith,” said Rose. Laughing at the memory and then the amusement was replaced with fear. Hunnith had embarrassed him defending Rose’s honour that meant she had a target on her back.
“Look at me, I am not a witch,” said Merlin. Gaius did his evil eyebrow look and Rose just gave him a glare “where should I hide the book”.
“Kilghara’s cave, Uther will avoid taking him there,” said Rose.

She hugged Merlin in a tight hug before walking towards the door realising how scared Morgana must have felt. At the door she turned to face Merlin and Gaius they both looked at her “we just need to keep our heads and remain normal, Merlin next time please remember you aren’t the only magic user in the castle”. She then walked out the room and went to her chambers. Morgana was staring out the window looking worried. She went up behind her and wrapped her arm around her waist. They both watched over the courtyard until night fell. Rose could feel the tension in Morgana.
“What if he finds out,” said Morgana.
“I won’t let that happen,” said Rose. Gwen came into the room and started to make their beds.

The witchfinder arrived at the square with a cage on wheels Rose shuddered when she saw it. Gwen came to join them at the window.
“Is that him?” asked Gwen. Morgana’s tension in her body got worse with this Rose attempted to pull Morgana away from the window.
“Yeah, that’s him alright,” said Rose. He hadn’t changed at all. He was speaking to the guards at the doors he was probably doing his dramatic speech about the evils of witchcrafts and sorcery.
“What’s the cage for” asked Gwen.
“He uses it to transport people to execution, he parades them around,” said Rose. He looked up at them and they jumped backwards, Rose pulled Morgana away from the window.

The next morning Rose woke up in Morgana’s bed. She had been so distressed the night before that she had insisted, she slept in her bed. She got up and got dressed in trousers and a tunic before heading to see Merlin and Gaius. She ate some porridge in their chambers before they set out into the marketplace. Rose had decided before going to bed the night before she wasn’t going to hide and act suspiciously because otherwise, they were going to be found. Act normal be perceived as normal.
“Gaius, I never forget a face” said Aredian coming out of the shadows he was still tall as ever and still wore the same clothes. 
“Neither do I Aredian,” said Gaius. Aredian gave Rose a look of a recognition.
“The sickly girl from Ealdor, Rose” said Aredian he had a flash of rage go over his face before his face became normal.
“Yeah, that’s me” said Rose giving him a polite smile. Aredian then looked at Merlin with a questioning look.
“My assistant and ward Merlin,” said Gaius.
“A physician now you always had a thirst for knowledge” said Aredian.
“Scientific knowledge,” said Gaius.
“Of course” said Aredian. Rose and Aredian glared at each other which Gaius seemed to notice he gave her nudge before turning her around.
“Anyway, we have got work to do, please excuse us,” said Gaius.
“Of course, Merlin and Rose, I wish to speak with you both please be at my chambers in an hour” said Aredian. They walked away and went to Gaius’s chambers. Merlin paced the chambers while Gaius and Rose sat down.
“We just need to stay calm, he will try to scare you, do not let him know he is making you sweat,” said Rose.
“She’s right Merlin, just keep calm and you’ll be fine” said Gaius calmly.

They then went to the Aredian’s chambers. He let them in, and they sat down next to each other opposite Aredian. Rose wondered why he had decided to interview them together. She wasn’t a witness to the magic.
“It has been a while since I saw you Rose, how old are you now?” asked Aredian.
“I am eleven, but I am twelve next month,” said Rose. He cleared his throat and looked at Merlin.
“So, both of you are aware that magic has taken place in Camelot” said Aredian.
“Yeah, apparently” said Rose and Merlin at the same time. He raised his eyebrows at them.
“It cannot be denied, she has named Merlin as a witness” said Aredian.
“Yeah, but I didn’t see what she saw,” said Merlin.
“I think it was a trick of the light it has happened before,” said Rose.
“That’s weird, a person see’s one thing and a person see’s another” said Aredian.

He leant forward attempting to intimidate them. Rose stayed straight faced and Merlin stiffened but also stayed straight face. “Unless it was you that did the magic”.
“No” said Merlin calmly. Rose squeezed his hand comfortingly under the table.
“Can you prove it wasn’t” said Aredian.
“Can you prove it was,” said Rose. They glared at each other across the table.
“Moving on to you, in Ealdor you were ill and sickly and failing fast, yet I see you now, you are 100% percent healthy, explain that? Did you heal yourself? After that woman chased me off” said Aredian He looked completely angry when mentioning being chase off. Obviously Hunnith chasing him off still was an open wound. Rose wanted to laugh at him but thought better of it.
“That was a year ago, I healed naturally, with the help of Hunnith” said Rose in an icy voice.
“You are both free to go” said Aredian. They both got up and went to leave the room “for now”. They left the room and went to Gaius’s chambers hand in hand.

Later, that day they were all called to the throne room. Rose sat in the throne next to Morgana as usual. Aredian had got some women that were claiming to have seen magic, but Rose didn’t believe it all the stories of magic was too farfetched even for sorcery. Unfortunately, due to the fact troll situation nothing was ever going phase Uther anymore and he’ll believe whatever he is told.
“I can hardly believe it” said Uther in a shocked voice.
“I have used my skills to bring this to a resolution” said Aredian.
“You have a suspect” asked Uther.
“Oh, I do my lord, two of them they sit and stand in this room, my are methods are infallible, my finding incontestable the fact points to two people and two people alone, the boy Merlin, the lady Rose” said Aredian he pointed at them in turn. Rose rolled her eyes he was so predictable.

Everyone in the room looked confused.
“Merlin, Rose, you can’t be serious” said Arthur in a confused voice. Morgana looked frightened Rose took her hand and squeezed it tightly.
“Don’t worry, I am okay” said Rose into Morgana’s head. No one in the room seemed to be taking him seriously. A few of the servants started to giggle quietly.
“This is outrageous you have no evidence” shouted Gaius he stood protectively next to Merlin. 
“The tools of magic cannot be hidden from me” said Aredian. Rose got up and went and stood next to Merlin to make it easier for their arrest which was coming.
“Neither of us are sorcerers, we have no tools of magic to hide in the first place” said Rose in a deadpan voice.
“A thorough search of both their chambers will give us all we need” said Aredian completely ignoring her.
“Merlin, Rose” said Uther softly but sternly.
“We have nothing to hide from him” said Rose and Merlin at the exact same time.
“Very well, guards restrain them both,” said Uther. Rose and Merlin let themselves be restrained and taken to the dungeon. Going quietly seemed to be the best thing to do.

They got shoved into one of the cells together. Merlin looked scared as he sat down on the floor the other end of the cell door. Rose sat down next to him putting her head on his arm and putting her legs underneath her. She felt strangely calm even though she had been accused of sorcery which would sentence her to death.
“That man is a liar, I bet he paid them ladies to say they saw that magic, in Ealdor he blamed everyone including poor old Thiggy,” said Rose.
“Thiggy is no sorcerer,” said Merlin.
“I knew he was going to accuse me, he did it before and now he doesn’t have your mother to chase him out of town, I think it bruised his ego,” said Rose.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” said Merlin.

He wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders, and they sat in silence thoughts going around Rose’s head. She hadn’t done magic this time at all and she was in trouble. She feared for Morgana she had only had her magic a few months she hadn’t had the years of getting used to it the constant fear of being caught. There were footsteps towards their cell she looked up to see Arthur open the cell. They both got up and stood at the cell door.
“Merlin you are free to go,” said Arthur. He looked relieved and sad at the same time.
“What about Rose,” said Merlin.
“Unfortunately, she has to stay and be interviewed by Aredian,” said Arthur.
“No, I won’t leave her in the hands of a witchfinder” said Merlin in an angry voice.

Rose put both hands either side of his face.
“I am going to be okay, I promise,” said Rose. She hugged him so she was facing Arthur he made a gesture which she listened to. She pushed Merlin into Arthur and he dragged him out of the cell. Locking the door behind him. Gaius got escorted to the cell a few doors down to Rose’s.
“Do nothing, say nothing” said Gaius as he walked past Merlin. “Promise me”. Rose could hear the determination in his voice he was protecting Merlin.
“Aren’t you going to put him with Rose” asked Arthur.
“Aredian said put him furthest away will make them crack quicker” said one of the guards. Arthur rolled his eyes and soon it was just Rose and Gaius and a few guards.

Rose didn’t remember falling asleep her brain was so active that she was surprised that she had managed to fall asleep. She woke up to freezing cold water being chucked on her. She gasped and spluttered as Aredian stood in front of her.
“Oi” said Rose. Forgetting the fact, she was being accused of sorcery for a minute and maybe shouting at the accuser won’t help. He didn’t need to wake her up with a bucket of water.
“Ready to confess” said Aredian the guards took her into a room. She was sat opposite Aredian, he was looking determined. She felt a shiver go down her back, his ego was still bruised from their last encounter so he was going to be relentless. She looked around the room and it was dark. 
“No” said Rose. She gave him an angry look feeling annoyed it was going to take a lot more to crack her.
“No what?” asked Aredian.
“I am not going to confess to sorcery,” said Rose. Aredian gave her smile, and she shook her head at him.
“I was hoping you would say that this will be fun” said Aredian.
“No, it won’t, can I have a blanket please” asked Rose politely as she shivered slightly with the cold water that been chucked at her.  It was such rude awakening to have water chucked at people.
“Yes, once you confess for being a witch” said Aredian.
“Then I will die of cold” said Rose stubbornly.

She angry but she wasn’t going to give into his demands she wasn’t going to quit. He would have to kill her before she would admit being a sorcerer.
“In your chambers we found this amulet” said Aredian. He put an amulet on the table Rose had never seen it before in her life.
“Never seen it before in my life,” said Rose. He was setting her up he must have planted it in her room, Rose was getting a headache as the candle in the room was the only light.
“Strange, you share a chamber, with your guardian Morgana, are you saying it’s hers” said Aredian.
“No” said Rose. She stopped speaking from that moment she stayed silent and stopped answering his questions he got fed up and moved on to Gaius chucking her back in her cell. Gaius was in the room longer than Rose. He was finished with Gaius and moved back on to Rose. It was like that for the whole day and night. No food, no water, no warmth and many awakenings with a bucket of water but she wasn’t backing down.

Rose refused to speak to him and would stay silent. He questioned her and questioned her about magic and the amulet. He was getting angry the more she refused to speak. She had finally dried out from her last douse of water, but she was still cold.
“Staying silent won’t change your guilt, you are enemy to Camelot you are an enemy to the king” said Aredian angrily.
“I will not confess,” said Rose. She was taken to the cell again and Gaius was taken back to Aredian’s office.

She had to get out and escape Camelot she couldn’t stay and wait for him to make her confess that she guilty of Sorcery. She looked at the bars in the windows.
“Kilghara, I need your help” said Rose in her head.
“Yes, I was about to get in touch, get yourself out the cell naturally then use this spell to disappear, it will take you somewhere safe I promise” said Kilghara’s calm voice filling her head helping her stay calm.
“What’s the spell?” asked Rose in her head.
“Aswindan” said Kilghara into her head. Rose looked at the window and pulled at the bars she was surprised that came the bars came loose she pulled a bit more and the bars snapped in her hands. She climbed out the window ha that serves him right not letting her eat for a few days. She hated leaving Gaius, but it’ll be easier for Merlin to get him out without the stress of her being there. Rose stood in the courtyard it was dark, so she did the spell. Straight away she disappeared she flew at fast pace she shut her eyes to stop the blurs of her surroundings until bang she landed in the grounds of a broken-down castle on her hands and knees.
“Rose” questioned a voice near her. Rose looked up and smiled when she saw that Morgause was running towards her. Rose got up and they walked into the castle. Morgause made sure she ate and drank before pushing her for answers. Rose told her what had been happening missing out Merlin’s magic all together, it wasn’t her magic to reveal, and Rose respected his privacy.
“Sounds like you have been in a situation” said Morgause.
“I feel bad because I abandoned Morgana, but I didn’t want to be confess,” said Rose.
“Morgana is safe, try not to worry” said Morgause.

Morgause showed Rose to a spare room in the broken-down castle, Rose smiled and fell asleep. The next day went by peacefully Morgause would teach her magical spells and teach her stuff about her magic. They sat at a table opposite each other.
“What spell did you use to get here?” asked Morgause.
“It was a spell called Aswindan,” said Rose. Morgause laughed and nodded her face lightening with recognition.
“You did the spell wrong” said Morgause.
“How, I disappeared and arrived at you,” said Rose.
“The actual spell is Aswindan æt hælo, you could have ended up anywhere good thing we have high priestess connections” said Morgause. “With that spell it makes you disappear but if you say it alone Aswindan alone you can end up anywhere, I have known people to land in bodies of water”
“Oh okay, in that case if you said Aswindan ae with a person’s name, I would end up with that person” said Rose.
“Yes, however most magic users don’t use the spell because they don’t have the power to use it, you are powerful indeed” said Morgause.

They spent the rest of the day playing with magic. Morgause had taught her a few weather spells and a few body morphing spells. Soon it became dark and Rose and Morgause sat by a fire staring at it. They both drank a cup of tea and ate some fruit.
“Watch this,” said Rose. She made a shape in the fire, and it kept floating in the flames which went into the smoke showing a horse.
“Is that caused all the drama in Camelot” said Morgause. Rose nodded
“Camelot is crazy sometimes; I am worried about Morgana though,” said Rose.
“Tomorrow I am going to travel to see if it is safe for you to go back Camelot” said Morgause.
“Thank you,” said Rose. They sat together relaxing staring at the fire and the stars above them.
“What are your thoughts on Uther” asked Morgause.
“He is the worst; he was going to leave me to the mercy of a witchfinder, the witchfinder wasn’t going to stop with his mind games until I confessed, he is so blinded by his hatred of magic that he doesn’t care who gets hurt,” said Rose.
“Yeah, he has hunted down the magic users like deer on a hunt” said Morgause. Rose had always wondered why Uther hated magic so much, all she had read about it was that Uther had started the great purge after Arthur was born and queen Ygraine died.

The end

Chapter Text

Morgause got ready to go to Camelot while Rose watched her from the table. She was half watching her pack half reading a book. She loved it so much being around Morgause being able to practice magic without having the fear of being executed. She also enjoyed Morgause’s company because she was like a mentor.
“I am going to make sure it’s safe for you to go back, then let you know” said Morgause.
“Why are you wearing knights gear?” asked Rose.

Noticing the chainmail and the helmet that she held under her arm.
“I am going to battle Arthur to see if he is worthy of having you back” said Morgause.
“Okay, seems a bit extreme but it is you,” said Rose. Morgause smiled before heading towards Rose.
“I am going to be gone for a few days but don’t panic, this place is well protected no one comes unless I want them to, there are books in the library down the hall and food in the kitchen” said Morgause. She kissed Rose the cheek before leaving on her horse. Rose went through to the library and found a few books. She took them to the outside area before sitting down. She drank some water from a water skin.

Morgause was back in a few days like she said, and Rose spent the whole-time reading books, practicing magic and eating food, she had also written to Mordred to let him know what happened with the witch finder and to check to see if he was okay. He had sent a letter back saying he was in a druid camp south of Cenred’s kingdom and was safe telling her to stay safe herself. Morgause found Rose in the outside part of the castle reading a book. Rose looked up when she arrived and ran and gave her a hug. Morgause sat down with Rose and wrapped his arm around her.
“Is it safe for me to go back?” asked Rose.
“Yes, Arthur and Merlin should be on their way here” said Morgause.
“Do they know I am here?” asked Rose.
“No, it’s a surprise” said Morgause.
“Did you beat Arthur?” asked Rose.
“I did, get up I’ll show you” said Morgause.

Rose got up and Morgause got up as well. Morgause gave Rose a sword and they started their sword fight. She showed her how she managed to de-sword Arthur.
“Did he react well to being challenged” asked Rose.
“No, I came in and killed a few guards on my way in to show I meant business, chucked my gauntlet on the floor in front of him, I think they were knighting a few of the soldiers, anyway he picked it up and asked me to reveal myself, I took my helmet off and everybody in the rooms jaw dropped to the floor” said Morgause.

Rose laughed she could imagine all their faces just like have you never seen a woman in chainmail and knights’ clothes.
“When will they be here?” asked Rose.
“They should arrive tomorrow afternoon” said Morgause giving her a smile.
“Did you see Morgana,” said Rose.
“Yes, actually I need to tell you something” said Morgause. Rose nodded and waited for Morgause to start talk “I was born in Camelot, Morgana is my half-sister, I was smuggled out of Camelot after my birth and entrusted to high priestess”.
“How come you have to be smuggled out?” asked Rose. She was finding it interesting to hear about Morgause’s background.
“I showed magic abilities and it was just after the great purge and it was Gaius actually that saved me” said Morgause.
“Gaius is nice like that though; he’s been in charge of my schooling,” said Rose. Rose explained to Morgause how things worked in Camelot. Missing out Merlin’s magic and Kilghara unsure of how Morgause would react to the fact she was friends with the last dragon.

The next day Rose was feeling mixed feelings half excited to be going back to Camelot and half disappointment because she had to go back to hiding her magic. It was so much easier to not have to worry about being alive. Morgause had given her tips about how to keep it under control in stressful situation. They were sat in the room that Rose had been sleeping they were sat by the fire.
“When you’re scared or in distress you magic will give of a distress signal to any magic users in the area” said Morgause. She listened carefully wondering if Morgause was going to miss having Rose hang on her every word “you can control this by thinking about one magic user”. Rose nodded it made complete sense narrow it down get help quicker.

There was movement outside Morgause signalled for Rose to stay put in the room while she went outside. She looked out the window to see that Merlin and Arthur had arrived she stood so that she could see them, but they couldn’t see her. She watched Morgause tell Arthur to put his head on the chopping block which he did. Rose couldn’t hear what was going on, but she could completely imagine Merlin down there protesting like crazy. She knew that Morgause wasn’t going to kill Arthur if she would have done it already, she was high priestess if she wanted too, she could kill him without even trying. He straightened up and looked around he looked so surprised.                                    “Rose you can come down” said Morgause in her head. She didn’t need telling twice she ran out the room and ran down to the courtyard where they were.

She walked down the steps and both men looked up to see her.
“Rose!” said Merlin he ran over to her and hugged her tightly and she hugged back equally as tight, gosh she had missed him and his smell of herbs. Arthur came over as well and pulled Merlin of her and then hugged Rose. He pulled away but kept Rose on his arm.
“What is she doing here?” asked Arthur to Morgause.
“I found her in the woods not far from here weak, alone and afraid, so I took her to the castle, and I looked after her” said Morgause. Rose nodded at the story.
“Thank you for looking after her, you said you knew my mother, tell me all you know about her,” said Arthur.
“Perhaps you would like to see her” said Morgause.
“I want that more than anything,” said Arthur. Rose noticed that his grip on Rose seemed to tighten at the mention of seeing his mother. It was like he was using her to ground himself. She held back tightly.
“As you wish” said Morgause. She beckoned for Arthur to follow her which he did and took Rose with him.

They got to a part of the castle that was stunning to look at it had flowers everywhere and the vines came down making the place have a mysterious feeling. She attempted to give Arthur some space, but he kept her there. She just shrugged and went along with it. Morgause started to light some candles.
“Are you sure you want to do this” asked Merlin in a quiet voice.
“If you were granted the same opportunity, would you not want to meet your father,” said Arthur. Rose turned to face them both.
“A bit of below the belt comment, yeah it is possible that people want to see their dead relatives, its normal” said Rose attempting to comfort Arthur.
“Uther won’t forgive you he finds out that you worked with a sorcerer,” said Merlin.

Seriously who’s side was Merlin on he was meant to be changing mind towards magic not scaring him from it.
“What if my father’s attitude to magic is wrong,” said Arthur.
“You really think that?” asked Merlin looking hopefully at Arthur.
“Morgause hasn’t done anything to harm us, and she looked after Rose, surely not everyone that practices magic is evil,” said Arthur. Morgause turned around to face them with an interested look on her face.
“It is time” said Morgause. Arthur let go of Rose and moved forward towards Morgause she took his hand and lead him to the centre of the yard area they were in. There was a massive amount of magic in the air, and it was so interesting to feel it “close your eyes”.

Morgause chanted a long spell, and everything was in slow motion while Ygraine’s spirit arrived into the clearing. She was a pretty young woman with blue eyes she looked very similar to Arthur it was so weird how much they looked like each other. Ygraine said Arthur’s name and Arthur opened his eyes and looked at his mother.
“Mother” said Arthur. Rose could hear the emotion his voice she couldn’t help thinking about her own parents dead maybe she would be able to bring them back for a chat.
“My son” said Ygraine she ran hugged Arthur and he hugged back. She suddenly felt like maybe she shouldn’t be watching this, but it was like she couldn’t take her eyes of it. “When I last held you, you were a tiny baby. I remember your eyes. You were staring up at me. Those few seconds I held you were the most precious of my life.”

“I am so sorry,” said Arthur.
“You have nothing to be sorry for” said Ygraine.
“It was my birth that cause your death,” said Arthur. That feeling was so real, wait did that mean that Arthur’s mother died in childbirth they had more in common than Rose had ever realised before.
“No, you are not to blame” said Ygraine.
“I cannot bear the thought that you died because of me” said Arthur.
“Do not think that it is your father that should be sorry not you” said Ygraine. Rose moved closer to make sure she didn’t miss any of this conversation.
“What do you mean” asked Arthur.
“It is unimportant, the important thing is your alive” said Ygraine. She looked so young and must have died so young to produce an heir to the throne.

Arthur begged for more information on why Uther should be feeling guilty “Your father, he was desperate for an heir. Without a son, the Pendragon dynasty would come to an end. But I could not conceive”.
“Then how was I conceived” asked Arthur he sounded even more distressed Rose just wanted to go over and hug him, but she also didn’t want to ruin the moment with mother and son they not have much time left.
“Your father betrayed me. He went to the sorceress Nimueh and asked for her help in conceiving a child... You were born of magic” said Ygraine.

Rose’s jaw dropped Uther had used magic and it didn’t go his way, so he killed everyone with magic as revenge. She was so done with Uther’s hypocrisy he was ready for magic user all to drop dead and tortured while he can just use magic and not be held accountable.
“That can’t be true,” said Arthur.
“I'm sorry, Arthur. Your father has deceived you as he deceived me. To create a life, a life must be taken. Your father knew that” said Ygraine.
“No.” cried Arthur.
“He sacrificed my life so the Pendragon dynasty could continue. It makes you no less my son, nor me any less proud of you. Now I see you, I would have given my life willingly. Do not let this knowledge change you” said Ygraine with that sentence she disappeared the spell was over.

Arthur looked back up to see that she was gone he looked so heart broken and sad. He also looked very angry indeed.
“No, bring her back” said Arthur desperately.
“I cannot, once the door is closed it is closed forever” said Morgause.
“I am so sorry Arthur, it must be hard knowing that your father is responsible for your mother’s death, even in cases of normal woman dying in childbirth it’s not the child’s fault” said Rose she tried to say it in a soothing voice, but her throat was dry.
“It is an unforgivable betrayal” said Morgause. He stared in silence while Morgause and Rose said their goodbyes and Morgause went back into the castle. He stood there a bit longer.
“Arthur are you okay,” said Merlin.

Rose walked closer to Arthur unsure of what he might need right now a hug, a punch in the arm or a squeeze on the shoulder.
“Fetch the horse, we ride to Camelot” said Arthur he took Rose’s arm and walked her to the horses that Merlin was fetching he was shaking with anger. Merlin was arranging his saddle so that Rose would go on his saddle “no she goes on mine”. Before Rose could protest Arthur had already put her on his horse and then got behind her.
“Maybe I can choose for myself” said Rose cautiously.
“No” said Arthur flatly. He was trembling with rage and anger. She decided it was best not to argue with him.

They arrived back in Camelot in the evening and wow was Arthur angry. He got of the horse got Rose of the horse grabbed his sword and went to straight to the council chambers taking Rose with him. He dragged her down the corridor until they arrived at the council chambers. They walked in and Uther looked up.
“Arthur, Rose it’s so good to see you, I have been worried, we had search parties out looking for both of you,” said Uther.
“I know what you did to my mother” breathed Arthur in complete and utter rage.
“Leave us, don’t let anyone enter,” said Uther. Leon nodded and left the room with a bow. Rose attempted to follow him, but Arthur stopped her “what are you talking about?”.
“You were so desperate for an heir you were prepared to use magic” said Arthur his voice was level but was raising in volume as time went on.
“Did Morgause tell you this, she is lying,” said Uther.

Rose could not believe how easy it was for him to just flat out lie and sound convincing if she hadn’t got the information for Ygraine herself she would believe him.
“My mother is dead because of your selfishness and your arrogance; her blood is on your hands,” said Arthur.
“No that’s not true, Morgause would have you believe that,” said Uther.
“This is what fuels your hatred of magic, for those who practice magic, instead of blaming yourself, you blame them,” said Arthur. Rose was not enjoying the tension build up that was happening in this room.

Why wouldn’t Arthur just let her leave this was his argument with Uther not hers.
“You would believe a sorcerer’s lies over your own father? I can only imagine that Morgause has enchanted you,” said Uther.
“Morgause looked after Rose after she escaped from the cells, she was weak after what you let the witchfinder do to her she wasn’t a sorcerer and yet you were told she was and let a witchfinder weaken her, she is a child, you have hunted Morgause’s kind like animals, but she showed nothing but kindness,” shouted Arthur. He took a deep breath and continued “How many have you condemned to death to ease your guilt, including woman and children for doing the crime of being born”
“Those who practice magic will stop at nothing to destroy us, I have only done what is necessary for the kingdom,” said Uther.
“Did you not hear me, I said that Morgause took care of Rose, that doesn’t look like she is about to destroy us, necessary to drown all those children in the druid camps,” said Arthur.

He had a disgusted look on his face. Arthur looked hurt and angry, but she knew that as soon as he calmed down, he would regret harming Uther. “You speak of honour and nobility but all you are is a hypocrite and a liar”.
“I am your father and your king you will show me some respect,” said Uther. Arthur took of his gauntlet and chucked it on the floor.
“Arthur don’t,” said Rose.
“Pick it up” hissed Arthur at Uther an anger in his eyes that scared Rose.
“I will not fight you,” said Uther.
“Arthur don’t, you don’t want to lose both parents, just think it through you will regret this later,” said Rose.
“He hunts down magic users, he would not show them the same respect, if you refuse to defend yourself, I will strike you where you stand,” said Arthur.
“You are my son; you will not strike an unarmed man in front of a child,” said Uther.
“I know longer see myself as your son,” said Arthur. Rose got her sword out ready for the hit, Arthur didn’t notice her sword coming out.

Arthur went to strike Uther, but Rose took the blow with her sword, and he pushed her out the way. They fought against each other until Arthur had Uther pinned up against the throne. The door opened and Merlin burst in the door.
“Arthur, don’t, I know you don’t want to do this” said Merlin urgently.
“My mother is dead because of him” said Arthur he had tears in his eyes. Rose approached Arthur and put her hand on his shoulder gently. He let her keep her hand there.
“Killing him won’t bring her back” said Merlin
“You have already lost one parent do you want to lose another,” said Rose.
“Listen to them Arthur,” said Uther.

Arthur attempted to straighten his sword on Uther, but Rose hand kept his arm still.
“Arthur, please, put the sword down” said Merlin moving closer to the three people at the end of the room.
“You heard what my mother said, after everything he has done, do you believe he deserves to live, he executes people with magic even though he has used it himself,” said Arthur.

Rose looked to Merlin the only way out of this was back pedal. He seemed to read her mind.
“Morgause was lying, she’s a high priestess” said Merlin it was breaking his heart to say this, and Rose could see that, but it was better than Arthur killing Uther. “She tricked you, that was not your mother you saw it was an illusion, everything…” he took a deep breath “Everything your mother said to you those were Morgause’s words”.
“You don’t know that” shouted Arthur he was loosening his grip on the sword.
“This has been her plan all along to make you hate the king, you kill him you become a broken king, the kingdom will be destroyed that is what she wants,” shouted Merlin.
“Listen to him Arthur, he tells the truth,” said Uther.

It was a few minutes of everyone in the room panting with emotion and exertion.
“Promise me you never hurt my mother,” said Arthur.
“I promise, I loved you mother, there isn’t a day goes by I don’t miss her, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her,” said Uther. Arthur stood panting her a few minutes before dropping his sword and then dropping to the floor by the throne taking Rose with him. She rubbed circles in his back.

Rose made the first excuse to get away from the situation and went straight to find Morgana. She hugged her for a long time and the next morning Rose was pleasantly surprised to see that Morgana wasn’t having a bad dream. She got out of bed and got dressed before heading to see Merlin in Arthur’s chambers. She listened at the door.
“I had become confused, it is once again clear to me, that those that practice magic are evil and dangerous, and that’s down to you,” said Arthur.
“Glad I could help,” said Merlin.

Rose could hear Merlin’s emotion in his voice, so she walked into Arthur’s chambers. Arthur turned around.
“Thank you for being there for me yesterday, sorry I dragged you with me to confront him, you just have a calming way about you,” said Arthur.
“I have no ill feelings towards you Arthur, can I take Merlin for the rest of the day” asked Rose. Arthur nodded and before Merlin could protest Rose dragged him out of the room. They walked to Merlin’s chamber.
“Are you okay?” asked Rose.
“Yeah, it’s just difficult being the reason he hates magic,” said Merlin.
“It won’t always be like this,” said Rose.

They walked in silence after that until they got to the physian’s chambers. Merlin took off his backpack before turning around to see Uther reading something.
“Sire” said both Rose and Merlin they bowed.
“I wanted to thank you both in person for your actions yesterday, you Merlin are loyal servant to Arthur, I am most grateful,” said Uther. “Rose you are good addition to castle; you bring a lot of light to it”
“I was just doing my duty,” said Merlin.
“You have proven yourselves to be trusted allies in the fight against magic,” said Uther. Rose looked to Merlin who was shocked. “Rose, I was arranging for you to be released, I sent someone down to get you and you were gone, I would have never left to the mercy of Aredian”.
“Thank you, sorry for running away its just he was chucking water at me and not letting me eat or drink,” said Rose. 

Uther nodded in understand before turning back to Merlin.
“Those who practice magic will seek to exploit Arthur’s inexperience, we must be extra vigilant,” said Uther.
“I will keep my eyes peeled,” said Merlin.
“Me to,” said Rose.
“I know you will, oh and Merlin, if you ever speak of what happened yesterday between me and Arthur, I will have you hanged,” said Uther.

Merlin nodded and Uther left the room. Rose and Merlin stared after in complete confusion, had he ever heard of thanking someone without it ending it with a threat. Gaius came through the door a few minutes later.
“Was that Uther I just saw,” said Gaius.
“He popped in to say hello,” said Rose.
“What did he want?” asked Gaius looking concerned and confused.
“He wanted to thank us for being great allies in the fight against magic,” said Merlin.

Rose and Merlin both sat down slowly completely in awe about what had been happening.
“How you two keep a head on your shoulders is a mystery beyond our greatest mind, Uther should be grateful,” said Gaius.
“It would have been easier to let him die, but I knew Arthur would regret it so I ended up catching the first blow which was meant for Uther with my sword, not that I had much of a choice he dragged me into that room” said Rose.
“You must have been tempted,” said Gaius.
“I was for a moment, like Rose said he would have never forgiven himself,” said Merlin.
“I’m proud of you both,” said Gaius.

Merlin and Rose stared at each other and then looked at Gaius it was a very strange day overall.
“Arthur’s thanking us,” said Merlin.
“Uther grateful,” said Rose.
“Your proud,” said Merlin.
“I don’t think we have ever been this popular!” said Rose and Merlin together. Gaius gave them a kind smile.
“Don’t expect it to last,” said Gaius.
“Just let us enjoy the moment” said Rose and Merlin together. Merlin put his feet up at the table and Rose put her feet up on Merlin. They all started laughing.

The end

Chapter Text

It was the night of Rose’s 12^th birthday she had a good day and a few nice gifts. Her favourite being a shield with the dragon logo and a rose in the corner. It was from Arthur, and it matched the sword he had got for her for her last birthday. She had got a ring from Mordred which was cute, and the stone was bright blue. She wasn’t old enough for a feast for her birthday, so she was happy with the meal she had with the royals. Unfortunately, it would have been nice if Merlin could have been at the table rather than serving her. She looked over to Morgana to see that she was sleeping soundly.

Morgause had given her a healing bracelet to help her sleep and it worked. She saw Merlin sneaking out the castle looking suspicious. She was still in day clothes, so she wrapped herself up in shawl and followed Merlin to the lower town. He got to the tavern and then broke a girl out of the cage that is usually used by bounty hunters. A man came out of the tavern and looked at the cage with confusion then anger. The tavern sign fell on his head but didn’t knock him out.

Merlin and the girl ran in the opposite direction and Rose sent a sleeping spell at the bounty hunter before following the duo to the tunnels. They got to the end of the tunnel and Merlin turned around and jumped when he saw Rose standing behind him.
“Rose when did you get here?” asked Merlin.
“I followed you out the castle,” said Rose. Merlin took his jacket off and attempted to put it around the girl. The girl jumped backwards looking nervous.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you might be cold,” said Merlin.

The girl looked at them in complete awe at them both.
“Why did you do that?” asked the girl.
“Do what,” said Rose.
“Help me,” said the girl.
“I saw you and well it could be either of us in that cage,” said Merlin.
“You have nothing to be afraid of we are here to help you,” said Rose.
“I’ll be back in the morning with food and candles,” said Merlin.
“You’ll be alright till then, get some rest, my name is Rose by the way, this is Merlin,” said Rose.
“I’m Freya” said the girl she seemed to relax around them. She took Merlin’s offered jacket and put it around herself.
“I’ll see you in the morning Freya,” said Merlin. They both started to walk away once they were around the corner.
“Thank you,” said Freya. Merlin went back and smiled at her before they both went back to their chambers.

The next morning Morgana went on a journey to visit some friends she was leaving Rose with Uther and Arthur to look after. So, Rose had ended up being dragged to a session of Gaius and Uther doing paperwork in the council chamber. Rose sat at the end of the table reading a book about healing potions. The bounty hunter walked in with two knights they bowed to Uther.
“Halig, you come baring gifts,” said Uther.
“Druid girl, unfortunately she escaped last night” said Halig.
“Well don’t worry, we’ll find her, we’ll give you some guards to help,” said Uther.

Halig came closer and around the table.
“You need to warn them sire, the girl is cursed, the druid camp kicked her out” said Halig. Rose looked up at that with a shocked expression that isn’t like the druids to just turn on their own.
“Sire, may I be excused?” asked Rose. Uther nodded and Rose left the room. She left the room and accidentally walked straight into Arthur “sorry”.
“It’s all good, hey fancy doing some training with me and Leon?” asked Arthur.
“Yeah, I can try my new shield you got me,” said Rose. She went to her room, got changed and got her equipment before heading to the training field.

They did some sword work before heading on to maze work. She was floored once and the rest of the time she managed to floor Leon and Arthur. The last exercise was based on enemy attack and phalanx. She did the phalanx with them.
“And if someone tells you to retreat, you do what,” said Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes and huffed a sigh.
“You retreat,” said Rose.
“What don’t you do?” asked Arthur.
“Act like a hero and jump in front of you,” said Rose. Arthur clapped her on the shoulder before dismissing her for the evening.

She went to her chambers ate some food and stored some food in her bag from her lunch before heading to the lower town to see how Freya was. She saw Merlin walk straight into Halig by accident. He ordered two guards to grab Merlin and they walked him to the dungeons. Rose went to chase them down then remembered herself Rose the child ward of the king’s ward had no power over these people. She ran straight to Arthur’s chambers and burst in the door.
“Arthur, you need to come with me now, Halig took Merlin away to the dungeon and is going to hurt him” said Rose quickly. She grabbed his hand, and she ran towards the dungeon.

 They could hear Halig shouting.
“Hold him down” said Halig. Arthur and Rose rounded the corridor.
“Halig” said Arthur. Merlin was being held to a chair while Hengist held his fist in a threat close to Merlin’s face “What do you think you’re doing?”.
“We caught the boy acting suspiciously sire” said Halig in a dangerous voice. Merlin flinched as the fist was still very close to Merlin’s face.
“Merlin” said Arthur.
“He could be harbouring the girl and he is going to tell us where” said Halig he swung his fist back, Rose stepped forward ready to act in case this man hurt Merlin, but Arthur grabbed his forearm before the fist made impact.
“Leave him alone” said Arthur he got Merlin out the seat and crossed his arms other his chest to show dominance.

Rose smiled deciding that she could leave, she left the dungeons and went to the tunnels under Camelot. Freya was crying.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose.
“I was worried I scared Merlin away,” said Freya.
“No, he’s just getting himself in trouble,” said Rose. She gave Freya the food and gave her a blanket that she had in her bag.
“Thank you” said Freya.
“It’s alright, so how long were you in the cage for?” asked Rose. She was fascinated to know why she had been kicked out of her own druid camp it must have been something bad to make a peaceful turn on their own.
“A few days” said Freya.

She heard movement and turned around to see Merlin was there. Rose noticed that there was an atmosphere between the two of them.
“I’m going to leave you two alone” said Rose. She got up and hugged Freya and then hugged Merlin he hugged back. “Behave yourselves”. She left the tunnels and went to her chambers. Gwen had drawn her a bath for when she got back in. She got in the tub and relaxed into the rose petal smelling bath. The bath was nice and hot good for the muscle relaxation after the workout she had done with Arthur.

The next morning Rose awoke early and went to Gaius’s chambers. She sat with him not very long before someone sent for them.
“There have been some bodies found in the lower town” said the guard.
“Lead the way” said Gaius. The guards lead them to the two bodies, Arthur and Uther were already there. Rose squatted next to Arthur and stared at the bodies. It was a man and woman both had been attacked by a wild animal.
“A bit early to be dropping dead” joked Rose.

Gaius chuckled at her comment. Arthur also chuckled at the comment.
“It looks like it’s from a wild animal” said Gaius. Rose looked around the bodies there were no animal foot prints only human footprints.
“Have you ever seen an animal like that” said Uther.
“The thing is it was raining last night so if it had been a bear or wolf, they would have left marks” said Arthur.
“Unless it was a magical creature” said Rose suddenly. The attack started around the same time Freya arrived that couldn’t be a coincidence surely. She shouldn’t have left her alone with Merlin.
“What makes you say that” asked Uther.
“A human couldn’t make these marking on someone and if it isn’t an animal, it has to be the druid girl that escaped,” said Rose.
“Good point, Rose go with Gaius and help him with his reading, Arthur be on high alert” said Uther.

Rose was happy with that instruction and Gaius and Rose went to his chambers. She picked up a book on magical creatures and so did Gaius and they started to read.
“Rose I think I have found it,” said Gaius. Rose went over to him and read over his shoulder.
“So, it is the druid girl,” said Rose. She read the passage that they kill at midnight and it’s a curse they turn into a beast where they can’t stop killing, Merlin was in danger.

They carried on reading about Bastet into the night. Merlin came home from work and was in a very happy mood. It was like he had never been happier before in his life. While Merlin wasn’t with Freya, she was going to speak to her.
“I will see you later,” said Rose. She got up and walked out of the room. She went straight to her room and got a dress from her chambers. She then went to the tunnels under Camelot.
“Hello Freya,” said Rose.
“Hi Rose,” said Freya. Rose gave her dress which was from Morgana’s wardrobe.
“Are you a Bastet” asked Rose. A bit too blunt for her liking but it was best to get to the point with people dying and Merlin either in danger of being caught or killed by the Bastet.
“Yes, a man attacked me, so I killed him, his mother was a sorcerer and she cursed me for killing her son,” said Freya. 

Rose sat down next her to put her arm around Freya.
“I am so sorry, someone cursed you,” said Rose. Freya seemed surprised by Rose being sympathetic towards her. It must be a hard life for Freya having to worry about not killing anyone. Rose gave her a squeeze before heading through the tunnels. She went back to her chambers and picked up a book and laid down on Morgana’s bed. Rose didn’t like it when Morgana wasn’t around, she missed her even though she hadn’t been gone that long.

The next morning another body was discovered in the lower town. Rose ended up helping Gaius put the body at the back of a wagon. Same markings as before, Arthur was getting information from the people around that may have saw it. Uther came down the road looking angry and concerned.
“Another attack?” asked Uther.
“Same markings on this one as it was yesterday” said Rose.
“Any tracks this time” asked Uther.
“No, just footprints, the men that saw it, saw it as a winged cat” said Arthur. Gaius and Rose met eyes and Rose told him with her eyes to keep quiet for now.
“So Rose was right this is a magical creature, Gaius do you have any idea?” asked Uther.
“We will need more time to investigate” said Gaius.
“Come on you always have a theory about these things” said Uther.
“Anyway, Gaius and I will let you what we know by the end of the day, my lord” said Rose.

She linked arms with Gaius, and they walked to the physian’s chambers. Rose shut the door behind her and faced Gaius “Merlin helped the druid girl escape, I helped only because Merlin nearly exposed his magic in front of Halig, the girl is a Bastet, she told me I tried to ask her to leave but she wanted to wait for Merlin”.
“Thank you telling me, I know it must not have been easy,” said Gaius.
“I don’t want to betray his trust, but I don’t want him to get hurt,” said Rose.
“It’s alright, can you go for a bit I want to speak to Merlin alone when he gets back,” said Gaius. She nodded and left the room. She went to her chambers and read a book for the rest of the day, she looked out the window and saw yet again Merlin was going to the lower town again.

Rose got changed before heading to the lower town. She saw Freya run into a dead end with all the guards and Arthur chasing after her. Rose joined that group subtly moving herself to the front of the group.
“No one ever escapes me” said Halig. The bell started to ring as it turned midnight, Freya fell on to all fours and started to scream loudly. She was transforming into a beast of nightmares, but all Rose could feel was sorrow for her she was in pain whilst transforming. The beast attacked and killed Halig she couldn’t help feeling glad about that he was an awful human being.

The beast went for Arthur and without thinking Rose put her sword in to Freya’s shoulder to protect him. He gave a smile of gratitude. The wound in her shoulder was deep and Rose felt the guilt roll of her. The creature limped into the square of the castle howling in pain. All the knights were surrounding it. Rose stood to the back of the group not wanting to hurt her any more than she was. The creature was looking at Merlin who was behind them. The stone gargoyle came down from above them and they all jumped out the way of it. In the distraction Freya flew away and Merlin ran after her. Rose made sure the knights were okay before running after Merlin.

They were in the tunnels and Merlin had got Freya into Morgana’s dress. She was bleeding heavily and was barely awake.
“Freya I am so sorry,” said Rose. Her guilt was still building, and she didn’t mean to hurt her she was just protecting the prince.
“It’s alright Rose, I have no ill feeling,” said Freya. Merlin picked her up and they went to some horses with Merlin got on the horse with Freya in his arms. Rose got on the second horse, and they rode out to a lake. It rained on the way to the lake soaking all of them to the skin, but it was strange because she didn’t feel cold. At the lake Merlin laid her down on the grass. Merlin still held Freya while Rose knelt next to them.
“You remembered” smiled Freya weakly.
“Of course,” said Merlin with a sad smile.
“I am so sorry for fatally wounding you,” said Rose.
“I am so sorry for what that sorcerer did you,” said Merlin.

Freya took Rose’s hand weakly. Rose held it.
“Neither of you have nothing to apologise for,” said Freya.
“There must be something we can do,” said Merlin.
“Some way to save you,” said Rose. Freya smiled up at them with a touched expression. She squeezed Rose’s hand.
“You have already saved me, you showed me love and friendship, you Rose have released me from my life of killing and hurting people,” said Freya.
“I don’t want you to go,” cried Merlin.
“One day Merlin and Rose, I will repay you,” said Freya. Her grip on Rose’s hand went lax and she died letting out her last breath peacefully.

Rose got up then and moved away giving Merlin some time alone with Freya to get her ready for burial. Merlin put Freya on a boat and pushed the boat on to the lake. Rose moved forward then and took his hand. He held her hand back which was good she was half expecting him to rip his hand away.  They walked into the water so that the water was to their ankles. Merlin did a spell that set the body on fire.

They walked out of the lake and walked back to the horse. They travelled in silence back Camelot, maybe Merlin was angry with her for killing Freya. Rose went straight to her chambers after getting back from the lake. She sat down on the floor under the window and started to cry openly. She was a cursed woman and a victim of a terrible attack and Rose had killed her. She had to though it was between Freya and Arthur and in the moment, she picked Arthur over Freya. There was a knock at the door, and someone entered the room. She saw the boots round the bed, and she looked up to see it was Arthur he came and sat down next to her pulling her into his lap, so her head was on his shoulder.
“What’s the matter” asked Arthur in a calm voice.
“I killed the creature, but she was just a girl that had been cursed, it feels like I killed an innocent person, but I know she was about to kill you, I couldn’t let that happen,” cried Rose.
“It’s okay, it may not seem it, but most young knights get like this after their first conflicted kill, its completely normal” said Arthur soothingly.

Another person came into the room, and she looked up to see it was Merlin. He also got on to the floor next to them.
“Nobody blames you for anything,” said Merlin. Those were the words Rose needed she started to control her emotions a bit more hugging Arthur back.
“I won’t make a good knight” said Rose sadly.
“Oh, you will, last night you showed advanced skill, I would rather you didn’t join in on the fighting, but I know you will never disappoint” said Arthur encouragingly “now get up Rose and we’ll go have some breakfast you must be starving”. Rose nodded and got up feeling a lot better than she had done before she still felt bad about killing Freya, but the alternative outcome would have been a lot worse, and Freya had told her she had been set free.

The end

Chapter Text

A legendary day was happening in Camelot all the kings and queens of the five kingdoms were meeting together for the first time in Camelot to discuss peace. Morgana and Rose were stood at the window looking out to the courtyard to the kings and queens arriving.
“In the grey we have Cenred and his knight” said Morgana and yep there he was with his stupid long hair and his obsession with leather.
“Yeah, I can’t be too close to him,” said Rose.
“Why?” asked Morgana with a questioning look.
“After my father died Will and I went to ask Cenred what had happened to him, he wouldn’t tell us anything, so he got angry and I got angry and then I ended pushing him back with magic because he was in my face, he threw me in the dungeon for a bit before letting me go, I was about 8 at the time so hopefully he won’t recognise me” said Rose hopefully.

She thought that however it would be hard to forget a random child attacking him with magic.
“Well let’s hope he doesn’t recognise you, saying that Uther can’t stand him, so we’ll be fine, he won’t believe him over you, anyway in the blue is king Alined and his knights and servant, in the green is Olaf and the woman is his daughter Vivian, avoid her at all costs she is rude,” said Morgana.
“That’s noted, the ones in the coats are Carleon’s army and off course Carleon didn’t bring his wife,” said Rose.

Morgana looked impressed with her knowledge. They left the chamber and went to the meeting room to greet everyone that had just arrived. Uther linked Morgana’s arm and introduced her to everyone being followed around by Uther’s manservant, and Arthur took Rose’s hand and introduced her to everyone being followed by Merlin. When she was introduced to Cenred Merlin moved a bit closer.
“Ah, your dad was a fine knight” said Cenred.
“Thank you,” said Rose. Arthur moved her on quickly to the next person which she was grateful for as Cenred was giving her an amused look. She was last introduced to Alined and his manservant he seemed polite enough. 

Later, that day Morgana got Rose ready for the feast. She was wearing a blue dress with a white shawl on she had her hair in a braid which went across the shoulder.
“Can I go for a walk” asked Rose.
“Yes, but don’t mess up your hair,” said Morgana.
“What will do turn me into a frog,” said Rose. Morgana gave her an amused smile.
“Yes, now hop off, oh and avoid the north corridor on the second floor that is where Cenred and his lot are staying,” said Morgana. Rose nodded before heading out the room to see Merlin and Gaius. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and bumped into Alined’s manservant the man’s basket fell out his hand and the washing went all over the floor.

He flinched as he bent down to get it. Rose knelt to help him she noticed he had a tattoo on his hand. She took his hand and pulled his sleeve up. He had a druid symbol on his wrist which covered up with his sleeve.
“What’s your name?” asked Rose letting him go as he covered up his sleeve looking sheepish.
“My name is Trickler my lady,” said the manservant.
“Can I give you some advice” said Rose kindly. She got up and then helped him up.
“Yes, my lady” said Trickler.
“Just call me Rose everyone does, am I right to assume you’re a druid with magic, just nod if your nervous” said Rose quietly. Trickler nodded quickly before keeping his head still “do not use it in front of Uther he’ll have you executed”. She nodded towards him before heading to her destination.

After some time with Merlin and Gaius, Rose went back to her chambers so that she could go to the feast with Morgana. She was sat in a chair between Vivian and Morgana in the banquette hall. Uther called for some entertainment and Trickler got up and started to breathe fire and perform magic she looked around and everyone looked entertained no one seemed to notice what he was doing was impossible. If they were going to accept this fire breather all she would have to do is release Kilghara and just pass him off as a jester, then he would be accepted. 

She laughed at that thought no, that would be a terrible idea instead of setting candles alight the trapped dragon would set fire to Uther rather than the candles.
“It is not enough just to entertain the men of the court, now it is time for ladies and the child of the court” said Trickler he faced the table with the ladies on it and butterflies came out of his hands and nowhere and fluttered towards the ladies and Rose. She clapped along with everyone else feeling entertained “oh lady Vivian what do we have here?” he bent over and put his hand behind her ear and a butterfly appeared on his fingers. “Why look, it must have mistaken you for a pretty flower”. Viviane clapped at this looking pleased with herself. Trickler’s act was finished so he moved to stand behind Alined.

After that the feast went on without incident. She would occasionally lock eyes with Merlin who had been on his feet all feast serving the nobles wine.
“How do feasts usually last?” asked Rose to Morgana.
“They sometimes last until the early hours of the morning, why are you tired?” said Morgana.
“I…” said Rose.
“Please say you’re tired I want an excuse to leave” said Morgana in Rose’s head. Rose gave Morgana an amused look before nodding.
“Yes, I am tired” said Rose. Morgana beckoned Gwen to her which she came and bent over to hear Morgana.
“Could you inform the king I am taking my ward to bed please” said Morgana calmly she then got up and Rose got up. They walked out the room and went straight to their chambers.

Rose fell asleep straight away as soon as her head hit the pillow. She woke up next morning dressed and went straight out to Gaius’s chambers for her schooling. She walked past Gwen and Viviane and gave Gwen a hug as she walked past her.  She saw that Merlin and Arthur were walking towards her she went to greet them, but Arthur hit Merlin around the head. Rose ran over in confusion.
“Oi what did you do that for” demanded Rose.
“It’s alright don’t worry about it” said Merlin.
“He can’t just hit you, it’s rude, you’re a servant not a slave” said Rose. She gave Arthur one last glare before heading to Gaius’s chambers. She went into find him at his work desk. He smiled as she entered the room.

Rose sat down and Gaius gave her a book about healing potions.
“Read this and then later I will ask you about it” said Gaius. Rose nodded and started to read the book it was a very big book. She read it for a while engrossed in the healing powers of honey.

Merlin came in sometime later they both looked up at him he seemed stressed out.
“What’s up” asked Rose.
“I may have caused a problem, although this time it is not completely my fault,” said Merlin.
“What have you done now Merlin,” said Gaius.
“Arthur’s in love,” said Merlin.
“How did you cause that then” said Rose in an amused tone.
“I didn’t cause that; he’s obsessed with lady Viviane” said Merlin desperately. Rose stared at him in astonishment.
“No, he can’t be, he loves Gwen surely,” said Rose.
“How could he be obsessed so quickly,” said Gaius.
“I don’t know,” said Merlin.
“This is crazy he told me yesterday she was rude and now he’s getting ready to propose now that is weird, he does know Olaf will kill him if he declares any affections to her,” said Rose.
“He said it’s job to woo by the end of the day,” said Merlin.
“It is your job to stop him then,” said Gaius.

Merlin looked at them both before running out the room. “Should I go after him it affects my destiny as well if he’s in love with Viviane,” said Rose. Gaius shook his head and pointed towards the book.
“Leave it to Merlin” said Gaius. She was about to protest but he raised his eyebrow she dramatically sighed and picked up the book again continuing to read. She read a bit longer before Merlin reappeared looking even more stressed out than before. He gave Gaius a lock of blonde hair.
“I found this under Arthur’s pillow,” said Merlin.
“I knew something was off, he’s destined to marry Gwen not Vivian,” said Rose.
“Wait is that what the dragon said to you” asked Merlin.

Rose slammed her hands on the table in annoyance, Kilghara had a name.
“How many times do I have to say it, he’s called Kilghara, how would you like if I started walking around calling you the serving boy or the warlock, it takes away your identity, and to answer your question yes my destiny is to protect Gwen the once and future queen from danger and being the link between the dark and the light” said Rose hotly.

She took a deep breath before feeling like a regular human again.
“Arthur’s enchanted” said Gaius changing the subject very swiftly.
“It was probably Trickler, he’s a magical druid he has the tattoo on his hand,” said Rose.
“I should have known he had magic, No one can make butterflies appear from thin air,” said Merlin. Rose gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Why would he do that though?” asked Rose.
“An advance by Arthur would be a sure-fire way to ruin the peace conference. Maybe Alined wants war,” said Gaius.

Rose rolled her eyes could anything just happen in Camelot and go off without a hitch.
“Without creating it himself,” said Merlin.
“It's the sort of cowardly behaviour you would expect from him. Cowardly, but clever,” said Gaius.
“We need a way to get him back to normal,” said Merlin.
“Before he gets himself murdered,” said Rose. She went into Gaius’s bookshelf and got a load of books on love spells and took them up to Merlin’s room. Merlin and Rose sat next to each other on the bed until she fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next day to Gaius opening the door she was leant against Merlin’s chest he had an arm around her, and his head was on her head the books they were reading on top of them. She nudged Merlin and he woke up. She sat up against the wall on the bed still.
“There are over 636 love spells in these books all together,” said Merlin.
“And 150 of them include a lock of hair,” said Rose.
“Is there no way you can narrow them down” asked Gaius. Rose laughed because one of the spells meant that Vivian would turn bald, she would love to see that.
“We have, this one Arthur turns into a toad, oh and this one poor Gwen turns into stone she can’t be queen if she’s a statue,” said Rose.
“With this one Viviane becomes hairless,” said Merlin.

She got up she felt a powerful magic from somewhere and she decided to follow it. She left the room and the powerful magic led her to Vivian’s chambers. She knocked and then went in. Vivian was eating like she had never eaten before and looked happy. She had a dreamy look on her face which was weird. Trickler was stood over the lady Vivian looking pleased with himself.
“Trickler, go please,” said Rose. Trickler glared at her and shook his head. She rolled her eyes at him and decided to pull the high priestess card “I am high priestess of the old religion, and you will leave this room and not tell your master or anyone who I am, that is an order and remember as a druid your loyalty is to me not your king” said Rose into Trickler’s head in a stern voice.

He looked at her and then nodded and then left the room quickly looking nervous.
“Do not ask me a question as I will not tell” giggled Vivian.
“I am a friend and don’t friends tell each other secrets” said Rose in her most childlike voice it sickened herself even doing this. She saw that Viviane wavered and smiled a really big grin.
“You must not tell my father, but I am in love, with a man who is courageous as lion, his blond hair waves in the wind, only to speak his name bring me so much joy” babbled Vivian.

Rose rolled her eyes and checked Vivian’s bed and sure enough Arthur’s hair was under the pillow.
“Then speak it,” said Rose.
“It’s Arthur, my heart belongs to Arthur” said Vivian she went to the mirror and checked herself out. “I must go to him”.
“No, you’re not even dressed,” said Rose. Looking at Vivian in her night gown she was very confused with the whole situation. She got in front of Vivian to try and stop her leaving but she pushed her over.

Rose got herself up and chased after Vivian she entered Arthur’s chambers and Rose come in after her Merlin gave a questioning look.
“She’s been enchanted too” said Rose into Merlin’s head he looked at her and roll his eyes and looked annoyed.
“Where is Arthur, I must see him,” said Vivian. Merlin got in front of her and shook his head. The love spell unfortunately caused physical and emotional pain in the victims unless they were around the person they loved.
“He isn’t here, which is a good thing, you need to leave” said Merin firmly.

Rose stood next to him and nodded to show Vivian that she agreed with him.
“I shall wait,” said Vivian.
“That is a bad idea” said Rose and Merlin at the same time. She gave them a strange look before moving around them.
“You’re not even dressed” said Merlin averting his eye away from Vivian.
“My love doesn’t care what I wear only that I am near, now fetch him,” said Vivian.
“I cannot” said Merlin quickly.
“You will” said Vivian.

Rose rolled her eyes and tried to take Vivian’s hand drag her away from the room, but she moved her hand away.
“He shan’t” said Rose in a bored voice attempting again to pull her out the room. She was so going to hunt down Trickler and go high priestess on his sorry behind.
“As he commands you, I command you” said Viviane.
“He is not your servant and we are asking you so nicely to leave” said Rose.
“I want my love, I need my love, I need to see him now” said Vivian sadly and in her strange, enchanted voice. They heard footsteps in the hallway oh great, so they were all going to get beheaded or even worse go to war its fine she’d break out Kilghara and then use the disappearing spell and get away from the madness that is Camelot.
“Go check what that is” said Rose under her breath to Merlin.

She started to pose in Arthur’s bed very sexily Rose rolled her eyes. Merlin came back looking more panicked than before.
“Arthur and the royals are on their way now” said Merlin into Rose’s head.
“Right that’s it, Vivian you have to leave right now” shouted Rose.
“You cannot keep us apart it is written in the stars, Vivian and Arthur a love for all time” said Vivian.

She was wrong it was Gwen and Arthur not this crazy lovesick lady.
“Stop! Swefe nu!” shouted both Merlin and Rose together their eyes glowed gold and Vivian fell asleep on the bed. They both got a side of Vivian and chucked her into the wardrobe and locked so that people couldn’t get in. Arthur walked in as they were looking at each other.
“Rose, I have told you before you can’t just help him with his chores, he’ll get lazy, anyway why are you hanging around like a bad smell,” said Arthur.
“I was just talking to him; I’m allowed to speak to servants especially ones I grew up with, he was my friend longer than he has been your manservant,” said Rose.
“Sorry Rose off course, anyway I need to bathe, I can’t woo my love smelling like an old kipper,” said Arthur.

Rose made her way towards the door not wanting to stick around to watch Arthur bathe before she made it the door Olaf, Alined, Cenred and their guards and servants the room was filled very quickly she ended up being pushed towards the others.
“Where is she! I know she is in here; Arthur surrender her or feel my rage” shouted Olaf he pointed his sword at him in anger. Arthur stood there with a genuine confused look on his face.
“What’s he talking about” said Arthur to both Rose and Merlin in complete confusion they both shrugged at him.
“Trickler tells me you have the lady Vivian in here,” said Olaf. 

Rose looked Trickler in the eye and gave him a very dangerous look he looked at her with fear, but it didn’t stop him saying his next comment.
“She wasn’t even dressed” said Trickler.
“If only” said Arthur dreamily. Olaf grabbed Arthur’s shirt aggressively and pulled him closer so that they were face to face.  Rose moved so she was in between them to the side.
“If you only then you wouldn’t look like a fool,” said Rose.

Cenred stepped forward and stood over Rose with a stern expression. It was the exact look he gave her when he had her arrested all of them years ago. She used the tips that Morgause gave her to squash down the magic that was threatening to come.
“Speak when spoken to” said Cenred. He then got his sword out of his belt and pointed it at her, so it was at her neck. She shrunk away from the sword her eyes wide.
“There is no need for this, search the chamber,” said Olaf.

Everyone started to search the chambers except Merlin, Arthur, Rose and Cenred who kept the sword to Rose’s neck.
“Lower your sword” said Arthur in a dangerous voice.
“No, I am surprised you let her kind in Camelot, dirty commoner” said Cenred. Smack before he could finish his sentence Arthur and Merlin punched Cenred in the face and Rose kicked him in between the legs. Before anyone could do anything about her, she ran from the room as fast as she could her heart beating faster than it had ever done in her life.

She ran to Kilghara’s cave she ran in and sat down on her usual rock getting her breath back he took one look at her and breathed warm air into her face she breathed in the smoky smell.
“What’s the matter young one, you’re shaking like a leaf” asked Kilghara.
“There is a spell on Arthur he believes he is in love with the lady Vivian, a druid man called Trickler has placed a spell on both of them, Olaf and the other kings came in and one of them was Cenred and he held me at sword point,” said Rose.

“Yeah, I can sense magic that is powerful, also you really need to channel your telepathy sometimes” said Kilghara in an amused voice.
“What do you mean” asked Rose.
“Sometimes when you speak to people in their heads, I hear it which means ever magic user that has telepathy can also here you, when you’re doing it to one person you need to think about that person, saying that it has only been since the kings arrived, so I assume it’s the nerves making you slip up a bit” said Kilghara giving her sympathetic smile.
“I’ll note that, now back to the point how do I break the love spell,” said Rose.
“A kiss from Arthur’s one true love will fix him” said Kilghara. She nodded before getting up.
“I will go, if I hide down here to long, they’ll look for me here and you’ll have Uther to deal with,” said Rose. She thought about and grinned “actually I’ll let him down here and you can set him on fire”. Kilghara laughed and blew the smoky air at her on her way out.

After hiding out in Kilghara’s cave she went and hid in her spot over Camelot then remember that Uther knew that’s where she liked to go. She then went to the library and got a sheet of one of the tables and draped it over the table before getting underneath the table and hiding. She got a book from under the table and read it. Her eyes became itchy, and she wasn’t sure if it was day or night, she was just feeling tired. She heard footsteps coming towards the table she was hiding under.

It was Gwen she moved the blanket up and crawled under the table to see her.
“Are you alright?” asked Gwen she wrapped her arms around Rose and held her to her. She hugged back putting her head on Gwen’s shoulder.
“Am I in trouble?” asked Rose.
“No Cenred’s in trouble, however you are confined to your chambers until they leave tomorrow for your own safety,” said Gwen.
“Oh, that’s good” yawned Rose. Gwen took her straight to bed after that and Rose went straight to sleep.

The next morning Rose woke up and noticed that Morgana was stood at the window. She went over to her, and Morgana wrapped her arm around Rose. People were going towards the tournament ground.
“What’s going on?” asked Rose.
“Another one that doesn’t know wow, Arthur got found in Vivian’s chambers, so Olaf has decided to get compensation by fighting Arthur to the death,” said Morgana. Rose put her hand to her face and sighed.
“Does Gwen know?” asked Rose.
“Yes, I told her earlier,” said Morgana. She turned around and went to leave but Morgana got in front of her and stopped her “hold your horses, your confined to your chambers until Cenred leaves”.

She rolled her eyes and sighed.
“How come he threatens me, and I end up in trouble” grumbled Rose.
“You are not in trouble we just don’t you ending up around Cenred, he was so close to revealing your secret,” said Morgana. Rose nodded in understand she was trying to protect her from being exposure and in a way that was a sweet thing for her to do.
“Thank you,” said Rose. She went and sat at the desk picked up a book and began to read it.
“I am going to the tournament, stay here,” said Morgana. Rose nodded and Morgana left the room. She read for the book for a long time until she heard cheering.

Rose ran over to the window and cheered when she saw Arthur and Olaf arm in arm walking into the castle. He must be free from the enchantment she cheered some more. She watched as the armies all started to leave one by one. Once all the five kingdoms were gone, she was allowed out her chambers. She went straight see Arthur, on her way though she saw Merlin. She pulled him behind a pillar before he could say anything.
“Did Gwen kiss him then?” asked Rose.
“Yes, Kilghara told me he told but I completely understand why you couldn’t get the message to me,” said Merlin. She hugged him before linking his arm they went down the corridor.
“Has Arthur threatened to kill you about blabbing about the kiss,” said Rose. Her voice in a false serious voice.
“Yes” said Merlin.
“So, he is back to normal then,” said Rose. They both laughed and walked down the corridor. She glad that the day was saved was again.

The end

Chapter Text

“Take the north door straight ahead, keep going” said Mordred voice inside Rose head it woke her up with a start she looked around the room it was still night-time. Her heart skipped a beat at the idea that Mordred was in the castle. “Keep going, hurry, keep going, it’s not much further now” She wanted to call out to him but then worried he would be distracted and get himself caught. “We are nearly there, be careful there are guards at the end of the corridor, Morgana’s chambers are next”. She was so excited to hear his voice again sometimes letters aren’t enough, but he was taking a big risk by coming to Camelot the door was magicked open. A man and Mordred came in and they shut the door behind them. Rose ran over and hugged Mordred he hugged her back. He then went over to Morgana who was still asleep.
“Morgana” said Mordred. Morgana woke up and sat up. She smiled at him.
“Mordred” said Morgana. He sat down on the bed with her and gave her a hug.

The warning bell started to sound making Rose jump out of her skin. Mordred was in danger terrible danger he needed to get out of here and fast. “I thought I would never see you again”.
“I found him wandering the woods, lost and alone hunted by Uther’s men,” said the man.
“Who are you” asked Rose.
“I am Alvarr, I too have been hunted by Uther since I was a child” said Alvarr. He must have been the man Mordred told her about in one of her letters. 
“You have magic” said Morgana calmly.
“Yes, my lady, as my parents and their parents they lived in a time of peace before your king started his war against magic” said Alvarr. Rose nodded the druids were a peaceful people until Uther started his war against magic and druids.

Morgana looked down at Mordred and stroked his hair.
“I to have known Uther’s cruelty,” said Morgana.
“Magic is not a crime, sometimes he’s executing people just because they were born” said Rose.
“I agree my lady, it is a gift and I would love one day to live in freedom, the boy said you would both understand, also he wouldn’t shut up about Rose” said Alvarr. Her nervousness for Mordred’s safety was replaced with a feeling of warmth as she looked at Mordred.
“What are you doing in Camelot, you have taken a risk coming here” asked Rose stepping forward and sitting on the bed wrapping an arm around Mordred.
“We came to see you two” said Alvarr. Morgana and Rose looked at them in confusion.

They got up and walked into the ante chamber. Rose had her arms around Mordred still and he had an arm wrapped around her.
“I will not stand and watch innocent people die, and I am not alone, many have already joined me, many more join everyday” said Alvarr. He seemed passionate about this, and Rose listened to his every word.
“This a battle you can’t win, Uther has an army at his disposal” said Morgana.
“It doesn’t matter how many they are, if our side has a weapon powerful enough” said Alvarr. He looked directly at Mordred when he said this. Mordred wasn’t a weapon he was a human, he was powerful yes with a destiny most magic users would love, kill Arthur.

Rose had made her mission though to make sure Mordred doesn’t kill Arthur to prove Merlin and Kilghara wrong. “When I was a child my parents told me of a crystal”
“Is that the crystal of Neahtid, it got taken in the last few days of the great purge by Uther, many died to protect it” said Rose.  Everyone looked at her in surprise “I read about it in a book”.
“It is here in Camelot, locked in the vaults” said Alvarr. Rose heard a noise like footsteps coming towards the room.
“Do you hear that” asked Mordred in her head.
“Yes, I do” said Rose into Mordred’s head.  She ignored the conversation as she focused her instincts on the corridor outside.
“Hide, both of you now, Alvarr in the wardrobe, you in the bed” said Rose seriously. They did as they were told. Rose and Morgana went back into the main chamber she shut the door to the anti-chamber she pointed her hands at the door “clústor se dor”.

The door locked and Morgana and Rose got back into Morgana’s bed and laid still until the door came open with a bang.  Arthur came running in with his sword in hand both Rose and Morgana shot up with a jump.
“What do you think you’re doing” demanded Morgana.  Arthur looked around in a really confused way attempting to look under the bed.
“I had a reason to believe that there was an intruder in here” said Arthur.
“Right now, the only intruder in here is you!” said Morgana in an annoyed voice she wrapped her arm around Rose.

This was so weird, lying to Arthur, Merlin was looking at her strangely.
“We’ve been infiltrated did you not here the warning bell?” asked Arthur.
“Off course we did, it woke us up, I wanted to come help, but Morgana wouldn’t let me” said Rose in a pretend annoyed voice. He nodded at that, believing their story.  
“Yeah, but you see Rose no intruder is going to be intimidated by you in a night dress, anyway I assumed we would be safe in our chambers” said Morgana giving Rose a scolding look but she winked at Rose that she knew it was all pretend.
“Then if you let me search the room,” said Arthur.
“You’ll do no such thing” snapped Morgana, Arthur gave her a shocked look “I don’t want you guys going through mine and Rose’s things, do you really think there was an intruder in my room I wouldn’t know about it”.
“I could come help you look for the intruder” said Rose eagerly.
“No, we are doing fine on our own, accept my apologies” said Arthur he left the room pointing his sword at Merlin on the way out.

Once they left the room, they got up again and Rose went to the door.
“onlúcan se dor” said Rose the door unlocked, and she opened it she breathed a sigh of relief she didn’t know what she would do if Mordred got caught. Mordred and Alvar came into the main chambers. Mordred went over to the door before walking up to Rose so he was stood next her: he took her hand and squeezed it she squeezed his hand back.
“We owe you both our lives” said Alvarr.
“You can’t stay here it’s not safe” said Rose she felt a very strong protective to Mordred like if something was to happen nothing would be right again.

Why was she having such strong feelings? She had had friends before and had friends now, but this was different feeling. She pushed it into the back of her head and concentrated on the task at hand.
“Uther won’t stop until he has killed you both” said Morgana.
“Will you help us” asked Alvarr.
“Yes of course” said Rose and Morgana at the same time.
“We are at the valley of Chamray” said Alvarr. They both ran out of the chambers and to safety.

Rose put herself back to bed after this and laid in bed. What on earth was going on in her head about Mordred she had met him once before and they shared letters, but it felt like she had known him forever and she was ready to protect him no matter what. She fell asleep with his face in her head. She got up and dressed and ready for training.

She went to the training ground, Arthur smiled as he saw turn up along the ranks.
“Okay, get into pairs, Rose you’ll pair with me” said Arthur. She went over to him anyway, usually when he paired them up most of them didn’t want to go against her so he would go against her instead. “We are going to start of with sword work, focus today on footing”. Rose did this “head” she caught the blow with the sword, “shield” she put the shield up “body” she caught the sword with her sword before pushing her sword forward. She went left and went right and then went left again before going left to trick Arthur and floored him with one more moved.
“That was impressive” said Leon who had been watching.
“Thanks” said Rose she put her hand out and helped Arthur up.
“That was impressive well-done Rose, everyone have a drink then it’s on to maze fighting” said Arthur. She got her water then went over to Arthur.
“How can I improve” asked Rose.
“This time Rose you couldn’t improve you did really well, oh sorry about last night, it was Merlin that thought someone was in your chambers” said Arthur.
“There were eyewitnesses that the intruder had gone in that direction so it’s not completely crazy he got that assumption” said Rose. She got back into the training and improved as the day went on.

They waited until nightfall until they got ready to leave, Morgana and Rose had arranged it so she would steal the crystal while Rose got the get-away ready. Rose left the chamber the first to ready the horses and make sure that no one was going to disturb them. She concentrated on Morgana before thinking.
“The horses are set up” said Rose into Morgana’s mind.
“I am on way had to get Gwen out my room” said Morgana into her head. A few minutes later “I have the crystal” Morgana arrived and got on her horse.

Rose was already on patch she patted her horses main and neck. They set off on the journey to the druid camp. She had a funny feeling they were being followed but she did her best not to draw attention to it. They got of their horses just before they walked towards the camp it was light, so everyone was awake. Mordred came running over to them and hugged Morgana before he hugged Rose. They stood next to each other holding hands. Morgana gave Alvarr the crystal and held it up looking impressed.
“Can I go show Rose around please? I haven’t seen her in a while, and we have some catching up to do” asked Mordred excitedly.
“Off course, in fact why don’t you spend the day with us, Morgana can come back and fetch you tomorrow night” said Alvarr.
“Morgana can I” asked Rose hopefully. Morgana reached out and hugged Rose.
“Of course,” said Morgana.

Rose and Mordred both thanked the grownups before running in the direction of one of the tents. They went into the tent he was showing her it was another tent with a lot of books in.
“It’s like you know me” said Rose happily.
“I know you love your books” said Mordred. They sat in comfortable silence for a while until they decided to put the books down and go for a walk. They walked past Alvarr hand in hand.
“Where’s Morgana? When will she be coming back?” asked Mordred.
“She’ll back tomorrow night to get Rose” said Alvarr. They walked past him and into Mordred’s personal tent. Alvarr looked at the woman that was in his lap “Unfortunately when Morgana comes back, Rose will have realised her destiny with Mordred and not want to leave”
“And what if she doesn’t discover the destiny” said the woman in a teasing voice.
“Then I’ll just make it harder for her to leave, we can go far with a warlock and high priestess on our side” said Alvarr.

In the druid tent, Rose sat down on Mordred’s bed roll and he sat down next to her. She laid down on her side her hand holding her head in position.
“So, what’s the deal with the crystal?” asked Rose.
“It holds a lot of knowledge; it can tell what has been and what will be,” said Mordred. Rose stared at him in interest she would love to know her future. Find out what allies are going to hate each other and who is the light and who is the dark.
“Does it do it at random or do you have to do a spell” asked Rose.
“You have to think about whatever future you want to see, I think though Emerys would be able to see into it without much help,” said Mordred.  He laid down next to her with his hand holding his head to.
“Who is Emerys” asked Rose.
“Oh, Emerys is Merlin’s druid name,” said Mordred. They talked for a long time about magic, about spells, about their lives and about the crystal they talked late into the night eventually Mordred nodded off. She draped the blanket over the top of them both and fell asleep herself.

She woke up next morning to chaos. They both left the tent to see everyone was running around. They went over to Alvarr.
“What’s going on?” asked Rose into Alvarr head.
“The knights of Camelot are almost upon us” said Alvarr into her head. Mordred started to use telepathy to warn everyone. Rose took Mordred’s hand, and they ran into the trees with the other druids.  They watched as Arthur went from the trees and stood in front of fire. A druid with a crossbow pointed his crossbow at Merlin. She couldn’t let him be hurt.
“Merlin duck” said Rose into Merlin’s head. He did and the crossbow hit a knight and a battle began. Everyone running back into the druid camp.
“Take cover” shouted Arthur to his men. The battle started and Rose completely froze stood next to Mordred.

They were behind Alvarr who was fighting against a knight of Camelot.
“Mordred run; Rose stay here you might be of some assistance” said Alvarr. Mordred hugged Rose before kissing her on the cheek before running in the opposite direction. She watched him run. A vine came and tripped him up. She stared as he screamed, and the knights flew away from him.
“I will never forgive this Emerys, I will never forget” said Mordred voice in her mind but the message wasn’t for her. It was for Merlin. She rolled her eyes at this but was distracted by her annoyance by Alvarr grabbing her around the shoulders holding a sword to her throat. He paraded her forward and all the knights and druids stopped their fight to look.
“Call off the knights, stop this attack on a peaceful people or I will slit her throat from ear to ear” said Alvarr. Arthur turned around in horror. She did not like being held like this and she looked around to see that people were crowding around them.
“Let her go,” said Arthur.
“No, call of the knights then I’ll let her go” said Alvarr.

He released her suddenly and stared at his hand in confusion it was burnt, Merlin grabbed her and pulled her away from Alvarr. She looked at the hilt of the sword as it had finished glowing, she looked at her rescuer as his eyes finished glowing. With Rose out of the way Arthur got the upper hand on the fight and Alvarr was captured.
“Give me the crystal” said Arthur angrily.
“Why should you care, what use is it to you? You are a fool” argued Alvarr. Arthur stuffed his sword into the ground and searched him finding the crystal “how many lives have been today and for what, you cannot yield the crystal you do not have the power, none of you do”. Merlin and Rose looked at the crystal and then looked at each other.

They made camp later that night Rose fed and watered the horses before settling down next to a very distressed looking Merlin. Arthur came over to them and slammed his sword into the ground before laying down.
“Merlin, check the horses are fed and watered,” said Arthur.
“I did them for him,” said Rose.
“Merlin!” protested Arthur.
“Sorry” said Merlin coming out of his thoughts.
“Not the right answer,” said Arthur. Rose glared at him, how was it completely going over his head that Merlin was upset about something.
“Something on your mind is there” said Arthur he smiled like it was a joke.
“It’s just when we entered to camp, it was a trap, how did they know we were coming,” said Merlin.
“Probably because they took the lady Morgana’s ward a way to get us to stay away or used Rose as a trap, either way I am just happy we are going home with the crystal and Rose,” said Arthur.

He seemed passionate. Did they think she had been kidnapped is that why everyone died today? She stared into the fire feeling guilty. “Now guard this with your life”. Arthur chucked the crystal at their feet.
“Why me” grumbled Merlin.
“I can’t hardly guard it while I am asleep now can I” said Arthur.
“What makes you think he can” said Rose tilting her head to the side to look at him.
“Who said anything about him sleeping” said Arthur he then rolled over and fell asleep leaving Rose and Merlin staring at the crystal.
“I was kidnapped was I” asked Rose.
“Alvarr wasn’t going to let you go, seemed to think you would choose to stay with Mordred on your own choice or if you choose to come to Camelot, he was going to stop you,” said Merlin.

Rose sighed and put her head his shoulder.
“I knew he was too good to be true,” said Rose. They carried on staring at the crystal it was compelling them, begging them to look at the crystal. They stared at it until the fire burnt out and they were still the only two people awake. Merlin grabbed the crystal and Rose looked at it. Kilghara flew over Camelot blowing fire over Camelot, Merlin ran into the square looking shocked, Camelot was on fire, Kilghara blew more fire, Merlin and Rose were crying in the crystal. The real Merlin dropped the crystal and rubbed his eyes getting rid of the tears. Rose wrapped her arm around him. She didn’t want to pick the crystal up anymore but compelled her to look, she picked it up and it showed her a scene of her and Mordred kissing each other they were older. She shoved the crystal into the bag. But looked up to see Merlin looked alarm. He had seen, oh no he had seen.

They got back to the castle the next day and Rose snuck away while they tried Alvarr. She went straight Kilghara’s cave and stood waiting for him to turn up.  He flew down to talk to her.
“I need to ask you something?” asked Rose.
“Yes, I had a feeling you would come to see me” said Kilghara.
“My destiny is to protect the once and future queen, then why am I destined to fall in love with Mordred the person that is destined to bring about Arthur’s doom,” said Rose.
“Do not be alarmed young one, it is a part of your destiny, you are not evil, you are destined for good, you will use your kind nature to stop many terrible events” said Kilghara.
“So, Mordred might not kill Arthur” said Rose hopefully.
“I cannot guaranty that it is in many of the futures” said Kilghara.
“I promise I won’t let Mordred kill Arthur, if I am destined to fall in love with him surely that means he’s not evil, cos what evil person can love,” said Rose.
“You have a good point, I know whatever you put your mind to you will do, unlike Merlin who is happy for me to spend the rest of my life down her” said Kilghara. Rose looked at him and smiled.
“I’ll make sure you are freed,” said Rose.

 She bowed to her friend before leaving the cave she went up to the main castle she went to Gaius and Merlin’s chamber and sat down at the table.
“Hello Rose, do you want to stay for dinner” asked Gaius.
“Yes please” said Rose quietly. Merlin came in and sat down next to her, he had a haunted look on his face. She squeezed his hand under the table. Gaius served them the food and Rose started to eat enjoying the soup. She finished quickly and noticed that Gaius was staring at Merlin. He was sat stiffly staring into his bowl of soup.
“Is there something interesting in there,” said Gaius.
“Sorry?” said Merlin in a confused voice.

He must have been so freaked out by what he saw in the crystal, Kilghara getting his revenge on Camelot and the last few days seemed to be on his mind.
“What’s the matter?” asked Gaius.
“The crystal, it has such a terrible power,” said Merlin.
“It’s locked away now, no harm to anyone,” said Gaius.
“The damage has already been done,” said Rose. Gaius raised his eyebrow before looking at Merlin with a questioning look.
“I held it; I knew I shouldn’t have done,” said Merlin.
“To be fair Merlin the crystal was drawing us to it, like it wanted us to look into it,” said Rose.
“Did you hold it to” asked Gaius.
“Yes, for a about a few seconds, I was putting it back in the bag,” said Rose. She blushed slightly at what she saw in the crystal.
“Rose is right it was like we couldn’t resist; we saw some terrible things,” said Merlin.
“Yeah, it was scary” said Rose before getting lost in her thoughts. Merlin probably thought the contents of Rose’s crystal was more horrifying than what was in his crystal.

She smiled and then squeezed Merlin’s hand again and knew it was Kilghara’s rampage he was going to do on Camelot.
“Then you’ve already paid the price,” said Gaius.
“What we saw has not yet come to pass and I am scared, I am really scared of what the future will hold,” said Merlin.
“There is nothing on this earth that can tell all futures, even the crystal” said Gaius this put Rose’s mind at ease, it is only in one future where Mordred would kill Arthur maybe she could stop it.
“But what we saw, it was so real” said Merlin.
“And it was real, but it was just one reality, the future is yet to be shaped, it is both of you that shape the future” said Gaius. He took a breath and continued “the future is shaped by the decisions that are made, the actions that taken, remember that, the crystal doesn’t shape the future, we all do”. Rose smiled at this.
“Thank you for that and the soup, I am going to bed” said Rose. She hugged Merlin and then Gaius before heading out the room. She went straight to her room and laid down on her bed Morgana wasn’t in the chambers, so Rose laid on her own bed in the antechambers. Gaius was right the future was not set in stone it was actions that would change things. Rose was ready for whatever came at her.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Rose learnt of her destiny with Mordred and that Kilghara was going to attack Camelot. That is what freaked her out, but neither could she completely blame him. Over 20 years of his life he was in that that cave and at least 20 of them he was completely alone it was enough to send anyone mad let alone a dragon. She hated the idea of her friend being stuck in there forever, but she hated the idea of the knights hurting him if he got out and cause a fuss. She had been struggling to sleep the last few nights thoughts of her future swirling in her head and she laid on her bed tossing and turning, she looked at the window it was still dark, but the sun also seemed to be rising slightly. She got up and got into Morgana’s bed.

Morgana wrapped an arm around Rose and pulled her closer to her.
“You haven’t slept yet, have you?” asked Morgana.
“No” said Rose. There was a knock at the door and Sir Leon came in. They sat up and looked at him. “You are needed in the council chambers,” said Leon. Morgana got up and nodded.
“I am going to dress then I’ll be there,” said Morgana. Leon bowed and left the room. Morgana dressed quickly before taking off her healing bracelet and handing it Rose.
“Put this on and get some sleep,” said Morgana. Rose put the bracelet on before falling asleep at long last. She slept for a few hours before getting up and dressed feeling a lot better. She went to Merlin chambers to see that he was packing up his stuff into a bag.
“Where are you going” said Rose standing in his doorway.
“Oh, hi Rose come in, take a seat, we are going to the fires of Idirsholas,” said Merlin.

Rose went in and sat down on his bed and laid across it on her front propping her head on her hands, while he packed up his stuff.
“So has smoke been seen in the citadel then, do you know what that means,” said Rose.
“That the knights of Medhir will ride again,” said Merlin. Rose was interesting by what that meant it was in a few books but not in a lot of details.
“Yeah, I remember Kilghara mentioning it, but he didn’t explain it how it works,” said Rose. Merlin turned to face and gave her a smile before going into his explanation.
“Seven knights got enchanted by a sorceress and they have not been awake for a long time,” said Merlin. He finished packing and Rose got up and pulled him in to a hug.
“Be careful,” said Rose.  
“You can always depend on me to stay out of trouble” joked Merlin. He gave her a squeeze before pulling out of the hug he put his hands on her shoulders “you also be careful”.
“I am staying put in the castle, what is the worst that can happen,” said Rose. He laughed and nodded before grabbing his bag and leaving to go on his mission.

She went back to her chambers and saw that there was a letter on her bed and Morgana was sat reading a book at her desk.
“I think you have a letter from Mordred” said Morgana pointing towards her letter. Rose went over to her bed and read her letter. It was a letter from Mordred was staying in a village in Cenred’s kingdom and was safe there. She wrote a letter back letting him know about the knights of Medhir and what had been happening in Camelot.

Rose hadn’t mentioned what she saw in the crystal to him not wanting to make their letters awkward. She sent the letter off before sitting down at the opposite side of the desk.
“You seemed trouble,” said Rose.
“I am, I hate the fact I have to act normally even though I hate Uther and if he found out who I was he would have me killed” said Morgana sounding upset.
“I know it’s not easy but you’re not alone,” said Rose. Morgana took her hand and squeezed it across the table.

The next morning things started to go downhill she woke up feeling unwell with a fever and tired. Gwen came over to her yawning as well. She equally looked unwell.
“Morgana, I think Rose is unwell,” said Gwen. Morgana came over to her bed and felt her temperature with the back of her hand. Gwen didn’t look to great either.
“Get Gaius,” said Morgana. She sat down on the bed next to Rose and pulled her to her “how are you feeling”
“Tired, dizzy, sluggish and feverish” said Rose her tongue felt thick and heavy like speaking wasn’t allowed anymore. The chamber doors opened, and Gaius came into the room he came to the bed.
“You’re the fifth case this morning,” said Gaius.

He did some checks on Rose before giving her tonic out of his bag “drink this, keep drinking plenty of water”. He then left the room to probably go treat all the other sick people.  Soon everyone started to fall asleep one by one so that the only people left awake was Rose and Morgana. How she was still awake she had no idea. She assumed her magic was keeping her awake. She had been attempting to wonder around the castle to help people. Morgana found her attempting to walk to Gaius’s chambers, but she walked her back to their chambers and put Rose back to bed.
“I don’t understand what would cause this” said Rose weakly.
“Try not to worry,” said Morgana. She put a fresh wet cloth on the top of her head.

 Rose sat up in bed as she felt a magical presence enter the castle, she got up she was dizzy and the idea of being on her feet was like she was about to fall over. Footsteps came towards the room Morgana panicked and pulled Rose behind her and they hid behind a curtain. Morgana had no weapon but had her hands ready to strike. The curtain got pulled back and Morgana screamed, and Arthur pulled her around.
“It’s me, it’s me, Morgana it’s okay,” said Arthur. Rose came out from the curtain as well and staggered over to Merlin. He caught her and they hugged. She stayed on his arm leaning on him for support.
“We didn’t know it was you” gasped Morgana. She was grabbing at Arthur’s arms desperately.
“Calm down Morgana just tell me what happened,” said Arthur. 
“Everyone started to complain that weren’t feeling well,” said Morgana. She was shaking with fear.
“Then what happened, Rose do you know” said Arthur he turned around and rounded on her.

She went further into Merlin.
“I woke up feeling unwell, the next thing I know everyone has fallen asleep” said Rose weakly. Merlin put his hand on her head and winced.
“Was someone here?” asked Arthur.  Rose and Morgana shook their heads “then why were you hiding”.
“We told we didn’t know who you were, you could have been anyone” said Rose.
“Where’s my father?” asked Arthur.
“We don’t know,” said Morgana.
“Arthur, Morgana’s distressed and Rose is ill” said Merlin warningly.
“They must have seen something,” said Arthur. Rose leant more on Merlin as time went on to the point where he was holding her upright completely. She trusted him not to drop her.
“wrap your arms tightly round my neck” said Merlin quietly to Rose as Arthur continued to interrogate Morgana about what had happened. She did carefully and he scooped her legs up so that she was is his arms.

They all went into the corridor to look for Uther. Arthur went ahead as Merlin and Morgana stayed behind.
“Don't worry, I won't say anything” said Merlin to Morgana. Morgana gave him a confused look and Rose also gave him a confused look.
“What do you mean?” said Rose.
“I think what is keeping you safe is your magic, it’s the only thing keeping you going Rose” said Merlin. They carried on walking down the corridor. Rose was nervous everyone was falling apart, and she was starting to worry that she had somehow accidentally bought it on somehow.
“I found him” called Arthur.

They ran to Uther’s chambers and found him at his desk he was asleep like everyone else, but he was unharmed. Arthur was holding his head up checking him out.
“He’s alright” said Merlin Arthur pointed at Uther looking angry and concerned.
“He is not alright” said Arthur he dropped Uther, so he went flying on to the desk again. Rose giggled at this.
“He’s just asleep” said Rose
“All we have to do is find a cure,” said Merlin. He put Rose down and she stood leaning on the table. Arthur stared Morgana with suspicion and confusion.
“You’re the only one not affected, there must be a reason why,” said Arthur. Morgana flinched at his stare.
“I don’t know,” said Morgana. Arthur rolled his eyes at Morgana and seemed to be getting fed up with Morgana.
“That’s all you keep saying but you both must know something,” said Arthur. 

If Rose had any idea what was going on did Arthur think she wouldn’t tell him what was going on. He was treating them like it was them that made everyone ill. Arthur rounded the table to stand in front of Morgana.
“No, they just fell asleep one by one,” said Morgana.
“Morgana took a potion, she was one of the first to get ill, everyone is asleep because Gaius fell asleep before he could treat anyone else,” said Rose. The excuse coming to her very quickly it might get him off their backs.  Arthur stared at them and then nodded in acceptance.
“Merlin see if you can find this potion, I’ll search for survivors, Morgana you stay here and look after Rose and my father” said Arthur. He gave her his sword “here, protect them with your life, you understand?”.

Rose snuck out of the room and went down to Kilghara’s cave. He gave her a concerned look and sent healing magic in her direction, but it made no difference.
“Everyone has fallen ill, and I don’t know what to do” said Rose weakly. She staggered around and swayed where she stood.
“Young one, lay down, I will keep you safe” said Kilghara. She did as she was told and immediately fell asleep even though she fought of the sleep. 

Waking up was strange she was worried she would never wake up again. She woke up in the throne room on the floor next to Uther. She sat up and groaned holding her head. She looked around Arthur ran in as Merlin knelt in front of Morgana and Morgause. Morgana looked unconscious and was in Morgause’s arms. Rose felt a jolt of concern.
“Where’s my father,” shouted Arthur.
“He’s safe!” shouted Merlin. She looked to Uther who was waking up as well looking equally as confused as she did. Merlin didn’t sound confused though he looked deeply upset and guilty.
“Morgana” called Arthur. Morgause gave him an angry look.
“You stay away from her” shouted Morgause before doing a spell and they both disappeared in a flash of smoke and wind.  She got up and walked towards Merlin who was still knelt on the ground. She put her hand out and he took it. She pulled him up and they hugged. Everyone looked at the missing space where Morgana had once been. Merlin looked broken and was shaking. He broke out of her grip and ran out of the room.

Rose decided to give him some space and went to her chambers. She sat down on her bed. Morgana was gone did that mean she had to leave. She yawned and laid back on to the bed. She fell asleep feeling happy she would know if she was going to wake up again. She woke up and jumped to see Uther was standing at the mirror holding Morgana’s necklace. She got up and curtsied.
“My lord,” said Rose. He just stared at the necklace. Arthur came in and gave her a smile.
“Father, I couldn’t find you, are you alright,” said Arthur. Rose started to pack her stuff quickly. There was no way they would let her stay in the castle the constant reminder of someone they had lost.
“Still no sign of her” asked Uther.
“We’ve looked father,” said Arthur. He looked across to Rose and went over to her and took the bag away from her “stop packing your stuff up”.
“You want me to stay?” asked Rose.
“off course we do, until we find Morgana, I will take over guardianship is that okay father” said Arthur. Uther nodded slowly and Rose hugged Arthur before running out of the room to find Merlin.

Rose entered Merlin and Gaius’s chamber. Rose ran over and hugged Merlin who was still shaking like a leaf and was really upset.
“Hey what’s wrong,” said Rose.
“Morgana was the vessel of the sickness, so I poisoned her, I didn’t want to” said Merlin sadly he looked ready for her to hit him and start screaming at him. Gaius looked equally as concerned. She understood how scary it must have been for him having to kill someone he cared about. She was worried about Morgana but at the same time she knew how much Merlin must have been hurting.
“Stop looking at me like I am about to set you on fire, come here, you did the right thing,” said Rose. She sat down next to Merlin and pulled him into a hug.
“How can you say that? she was your guardian,” said Merlin.

He pulled out the hug and was looked at Rose with tears in his eyes the guilt must have been eating him alive.
“I know you Merlin, you wouldn’t have done it unless things had got desperate,” said Rose. Merlin had a tear go down his face at her words but this time he hugged her burying his head into her shoulder. She held him for a while until she was sent to rest by Gaius. On her way to her chambers, she went to see Kilghara. She sat down in her usual spot and he breathed warm air into her face.
“Thank you” said Rose. They sat talking for a while until Merlin came down to the cave with a sword of Medhir. Rose gave him a smile and so did Kilghara.
“The time has come young warlock” said Kilghara. Rose stared at him and then looked at Merlin who looked nervous.
“Where will you go?” asked Rose.
“I am the last of my kind young one, there is only one road for me to take” said Kilghara. Rose watched as Merlin went down the stairs to stand by the chains that kept him there. Rose could tell in his face that he was nervous, but she could also see how ready her dragon friend was for freedom.
“Whatever you have planned Kilghara” said Rose he looked at her dead in the eye “please be careful”. He smiled a genuine smile.
“Ic bebeode þisne sweord þæt hé forcierfe þá bende þæra dracan. Un clýse!” chanted Merlin he swung the sword into the chains and Kilghara flew up and out of the cave. He roared and Rose looked down at Merlin who was at the bottom of the cave. Things were about to get a whole lot interesting.

The end

Chapter Text

Kilghara had been free for two days and three nights and he was in rage. He had been attacking Camelot for the last few days and it was difficult for everyone. It was the third night and Arthur, and Rose were leading the knights up the castle wall.
“I know your tired but make one last effort for me! Every arrow must count,” said Arthur. They all got low so that they were standing behind the pillars. Rose looked at her friend who was flying towards them. He had attacked everyone in Camelot except her and that hadn’t gone completely unnoticed, but Gaius saved her bacon by telling everyone that dragons don’t go for children.

This is how she had ended up on the battlement with all the knights. Merlin came and gave Arthur his fiery cross bow.
“I’m sorry you’re having to do this,” said Merlin.
“Why? You’re not blame,” said Arthur. Rose pulled him so he was behind the pillar and safe. Kilghara flew down and approached them “flame up”. The knights light their arrows.
“Kilghara be careful” said Rose into his head as he flew down.
“Don’t worry about me young one these puny humans can’t get the better of me” said Kilghara into her head.
“Stay strong! For tonight is not your night to die, I will make sure of that! Hold firm! Hold! Hold! Now!” said Arthur.

Everyone sent fired crossbows at him and they all missed him. He breathed fire at them, and they all ducked. She watched as Kilghara looked in her eyes and he nodded at her before flying up. He circled the square from above his eyes were full of anger and rage. Rose and Arthur ran into the square.
“Clear the square,” shouted Rose. She saw that Gwen was getting water from the well and looked up to see that Kilghara was making an attack. So did Arthur.
“Gwen” called Arthur. She looked at him and then looked up.  Gwen’s eyes looked at the dragon and began to run “Guinevere!”. They both ran over to Gwen. She was hoping her presence would get him to fly up.
“Stop!” shouted Rose. However, he did notice but rather than stop he sent a magic that blasted her out of the way to stop her getting in the way, she got up and stood between Arthur and Kilghara “Stop, fly up and circle but do not hurt these people”.

Kilghara stared at her before going up into the sky again to circle, she wasn’t expecting it work. Rose looked up again to see that Arthur and Gwen were on the floor, they were staring at her. She ran over to them and helped them up.
“Come on” said Rose. They walked inside together. Gwen patched up Arthur as Rose went over to see Gaius and helped him with the wounded.

The next day she woke up and helped however she could. She ended up in Uther’s chambers with everyone discussing the damage of last night.
“The number of deaths 49 men, 27 women, a further 18 women and children are unaccounted for” said Arthur officially.
“On a lighter note, most of last night’s fires are all out however the castle walls in particular the western section is close to collapse,” said Rose. Uther nodded his head as a thanks for the information. Arthur sat down and pulled Rose with him so she was sat on his lap, her head on his good shoulder.
“Is there any idea of how the beast escaped” asked Uther.

This was all his fault, what did he think was going to happen after keeping such a creature locked up and isolated, he caused Kilghara so much pain and anguish. Leon stepped forward.
“No sire, still no idea,” said Leon. Rose looked to Merlin who looked guilty and pale.
“There must be a way to rid ourselves of this aberration, Gaius?” said Uther.
“He seemed to stop what it was doing when Rose told him to stop, maybe we should her get to reason with it,” said Arthur. Uther looked surprised and looked across to Rose suspiciously before looking across Gaius to get an answer.
“Gaius?” questioned Uther.
“We need a dragon lord, sire,” said Gaius. He looked at Rose and then looked at Uther “The dragon is very fond of young however Rose alone will not answer our problem”.
“You know that is not an option Gaius,” said Uther. Rose eyed Gaius again did know something they didn’t.
“Sire say that one survived” said Gaius. Uther looked at Gaius with suspicion, but Gaius just looked back like nothing was wrong. She would bet on all of Morgana’s dresses that it was him that got the dragon lord out of Camelot.
“What are you saying?” said Uther.
“It could be just a rumour,” said Gaius.
“Go on” said Uther with interest. Rose couldn’t help but find herself hanging on Gaius’s every word the more he spoke. Kilghara had spoken of dragon lords before and it was interesting to hear one was alive.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I think his name is Balinor,” said Gaius.

A massive amount of anger came at Rose about Balinor it had been this dragon lord that had tricked poor Kilghara into his life as a prisoner. Then she thought maybe Uther tricked Balinor. Either way Uther had a lot to answer for. Rose left the room and went to Gaius’s chamber she picked up a book and started to read it. Not long after both Gaius and Merlin came in after her. Merlin started to pack while Gaius stood nervously at his desk. This made Rose stop and pay attention to the room because it was rare that Gaius looked nervous. Even when he had patients with limbs missing, he would be calm. So Rose wondered what was causing this nervousness.
“Who were the dragon lords?” asked Merlin.
“They were men that could tame dragons and were kin to them” said Rose.
“How do you know?” asked Merlin.

Rose looked at him and smiled.
“I have been seeing Kilghara every day in the evenings since I arrived in Camelot” said Rose.
“Is that why he refuses to hurt you and actually listens to you” asked Merlin.  
“Potentially” said Rose. Gaius turned to face Rose he looked nervous still.
“This Balinor, how did he escape” asked Merlin.
“I helped him” said Gaius with a smirk. He pointed to two chairs that were at the desk “sit I need to talk to you both”.  They did as they were told confused about his serious face and expression. “Did Hunnith ever mention Balinor to you”.
“No why” said Rose.
“She took him in, twice the first time is when he first escaped and the second time was when he got news your mother was ill, she wasn’t” said Gaius. So Hunnith knew him, why hadn’t she mentioned him once?
“Why didn't my mother tell me any of this?” said Merlin.
“I promised I wouldn’t speak of it” said Gaius.
“Of what” asked Rose.
“I am sorry you had to be told but it has to be done, Balinor is both your father” said Gaius. Rose stared at him with a shocked expression no, Balinor was not her father. He couldn’t be.
“Our father, your mistaken my mother was faithful” said Rose.

Merlin attempted to put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away. If she was Balinor’s daughter did that mean he had been around before she was conceived and met her mother. This didn’t make sense.
“You are Hunnith’s daughter, Many years ago when Balinor escaped he fell in love with Hunnith and he had to flee to stop Uther’s men getting him, about 11 or 12 years ago he got told that Hunnith was ill, he arrived at Ealdor and they reunited but unfortunately he had to flee again before he could find out he had a son, you were born nine months later but Hunnith didn’t know what do with you two, people were already suspicious of an unmarried woman with a son, for another child to turn up that would be too suspicious especially when Uther would send his men to Ealdor” explained Gaius.

 Rose stared at him her mouth wide open the shock was over powering she wanted his to stop talking, her whole life was a lie. “Will’s mother Grace died and the baby had died as well, she decided to pass you off as Will’s sister and send for sir Thomas, both Merlin and Will were too young to know any difference”.
“Merlin’s my brother?” asked Rose. She stared between Gaius and Merlin in complete shock, her whole life had been a lie her shock was easing and it was being replaced by a rising anger.
“Yes, he is” said Gaius. She looked at Merlin who didn’t seem shocked he seemed concerned at how she was going to react. This made her feel even angry and upset.
“You knew, you knew I was your sister, when did you find out!” shouted Rose.

She got up so she was on her feet.
“I only found out last year, remember when our mother was ill” said Merlin.
“You have known for a whole year that I was your sister and you said nothing! My whole life has been a lie!” shouted Rose. She slammed her hand on the table, “this makes so much sense, I never looked like Will, I looked like Merlin, Hunnith always treated me like her own” she put her hands to her face, how could she have been so stupid. “when I was taken by Hengist, Lancelot said I looked like Merlin with short hair”. She stared at both men feeling angry, hurt and a new feeling came in abandoned.
“Hunnith didn’t want the village to get suspicious, at that time Uther would send men into Ealdor just look for him” said Gaius.

Uther was an evil person he had used magic to stop his name dying with him then after the old religion doing its job he executes everyone he thinks in a magical being, kills all the dragons except Kilghara who imprisoned and then he attempted to kill everyone that could control the dragon then would send his men to attack a village not even in his kingdom.  Rose couldn’t take any more of this she ran from the room before anyone could stop her. She got to the lower town before she stopped and moved herself until she was behind a house.
“Aswindan ae Ealdor” said Rose. She yet again had that feeling of flying away until she landed on the outskirts of Ealdor.

She walked into the village. Hunnith approached her and seeing her look on her face took her straight to her house for a cup of tea. Rose sat in silence for a while, Hunnith made tea and gave Rose a bowl of berries.
“You’re my mother” said Rose. It wasn’t a question it was a statement. Hunnith went pale and sat down opposite her. 
“It is true, yes I am your mother” said Hunnith.
“I don’t blame you” said Rose.
“Wait, what?” said Hunnith looking up to face her. Rose took Hunnith’s hand and held it, she couldn’t be angry with her she was her mother and she had always treated her like she was her daughter. She was upset about the lying the fact her whole life was a big fat lie.
“I am angry with Uther, I am upset that my whole life has been a lie, but I can’t blame you, you were in an impossible situation” said Rose. 

They talked for a long time after this until nightfall. She had told Hunnith everything about Morgana, her destiny with Mordred, her destiny with Gwen, the uncertainty of the fact that Mordred is destined to kill Arthur and finally the dragon lord stuff. Once they had finished talking, she fell asleep at the fire completely exhausted by the day’s events.

Next day she awoke and got herself ready to go again. She sat at the table to eat the porridge Hunnith had put out for her.
“So, what are you going to do now?” asked Hunnith.
“I am going to find Balinor and get Kilghara sorted out” said Rose. She was feeling a load better than she had done the day before. She had a purpose now which was to help Kilghara her winged friend. She worried about him, what if they managed to hurt him while she was away. She ignored that thought.
“Be careful, Arthur must not find out who your father is, the children of a dragon lord could be seen as suspicious” said Hunnith.
“Okay, also it makes it easier the fact everyone believes I am not related to Merlin, even though we look so similar at times” said Rose. She finished her bowl and pushed it away from her. She got up and hugged Hunnith.
“Be safe my child” said Hunnith.

Rose nodded before stepping back and going back to the outskirts of Ealdor to do the spell to Balinor.
“Aswindan ae Balinor” chanted Rose. Yet again she felt the sensation that she was flying but this one didn’t feel right she hadn’t had chance to shut her eyes so all she could feel and see was a dizzying blur. She landed ungracefully on her front on the floor of a cave. She looked up and quickly regretted it the dizzy feeling 10 times worse.
“Can I help you” asked a man.
“I have come to find Balinor, for help with Kilghara” said Rose weakly. She attempted to look up again.
“I am the man you ask for, what has happened” said Balinor. He helped her to sit up and she was sat against the cave wall. She felt like she was going to faint.
“I feel like I am going to faint” said Rose she then felt Merlin’s magic nearby “I can sense someone nearby, hide me” she looked up again and everything went black.

She awoke sometime later it was dark in the cave and she was confused. She could feel like magic was everywhere and it was magical. She felt ten times better than she had done so before.
“Your awake good” said the man coming over to her with a drink of water. 
“How long have I been out” asked Rose.
“Since yesterday afternoon, the Aswindan spell shouldn’t be used to soon after each other and also you are meant to shut your eyes, as high priestess I assumed you would know that” said Balinor.
“First how did you know it was Aswindan spell and how do you know I am a high priestess” asked Rose.
“You landed in my cave out of nowhere usually that is the Aswindan spell and you can sense magic, which is what high priestess’s can do, now question time over we are going to Camelot” said Balinor. Rose nodded and got up.
“I’m Rose” said Rose. They walked out of the cave and followed the tracks. They walked until they caught up with Merlin and Arthur. Balinor stepped on a stick and then Rose stepped on a stick. Merlin and Arthur picked their swords and walked forwards. Rose and Balinor followed them, Merlin turned and around and gasped when he saw them both.
“Careful, boy, I believe this belongs to you, and I thought you might need some help” said Balinor pointing at Rose. She stepped forward and hugged Merlin.
“This is dangerous country” said Rose.
“You’ll return to Camelot with us” asked Arthur stepping forward he wrapped his arm around Rose.
“You were right Merlin, there are some in Camelot who risked their lives for me” said Balinor.

She looked at him with awe he cared about repaying his debts to the people that helped him, as she looked at him in the light it was easy to see that they took after him. With the black hair and blue eyes and their height.
“If you succeed in killing the dragon, you will not go unrewarded,” said Arthur.
“I seek no reward” said Balinor. Rose looked at Arthur with a look. They were not killing Kilghara she was not going to let them kill him.
“Great, let’s eat” said Arthur.

Merlin, Rose and Balinor went to collect wood while Arthur stood watch at the campfire. She was waiting for Arthur to lecture her for following him so decided to leave him to it. The longer she kept it quiet the longer she could get her head around what had been happening.
“It’s too wet” said Merlin. Rose picked up some wood and dried it with her magic she heard Balinor chuckle behind her.
“I think that we will be fine” said Balinor.
“When you healed Arthur, I heard you mumble some words” said Merlin. Rose raised her eyebrow; she must have been completely out of it. She had no idea that Arthur was even injured she had been too focused on herself and Kilghara. She felt bad then her new guardian had been injured and she never knew.
“It was ancient prayer” said Balinor.
“I assumed it was more than that” said Merlin.
“The old religion can teach us many thing” said Balinor.
“The old religion is that something that can be taught” asked Merlin.

Rose raised her eyebrows at Merlin, he knew all this. Maybe he was trying to develop trust with Balinor.
“It's not something you can learn. Either it's a part of you, or it isn't. My father knew that, and his father before him” said Balinor.
“Were they also dragon lords” asked Rose. Balinor didn’t like being questioned at all, he attempted to change the subject, but Merlin started to break it to him.
“You spoke of Ealdor, you took refuge with a woman” said Merlin.
“That was a long time ago” said Balinor. The memory seemed painful for him, he winced before picking up more firewood. Merlin opened and closed his mouth looking uncertain as to what to say.
“We grew up there” said Rose.
“Ealdor?” asked Balinor. He looked up to face them looking shocked.
“Yes” said Merlin.
“We know the woman” said Merlin.
“Hunnith, is she still alive” said Balinor he looked hopeful at the thought of her.

He must never have stopped loving her however Rose had a feeling that he had no idea he had children.
“Yes” said Merlin he took and spoke “she’s our mother”.
“She married, good” said Balinor. He looked between Merlin and Rose like he was seeing them for the first time. Rose could see he was trying to work out their ages.
“She never married,” said Rose.
“I’m your son and she’s your daughter,” said Merlin. They all stared at each other a minute the news standing in the air. Rose couldn’t take the tension; she had been fed a pack of lies all her life and she couldn’t handle it. She walked off and joined Arthur at the fire deciding a lecture was probably better than the fact everyone had lied to her all her life.

The lecture never came, and they ate food before Arthur fell asleep in his bedroll for the night. He seemed exhausted. Rose laid down next to the fire so that her head was in Merlin’s lap. He stroked her hair.
“Sorry about the way I left” said Rose.
“It’s alright, I would have probably done the same” said Merlin.
“How did you leave?” asked Balinor with interest he was carving something with white wood, he blew on it before looking at Rose some more with interest. She told Balinor her story of how she had been led to believe she wasn’t Merlin’s sister.
“Please don’t kill Kilghara” said Rose.
“I have no intention on killing him, just going to tell him to go away” said Balinor. Rose smiled and looked at the fire a bit more before falling to sleep.

Rose woke up next morning to a hand being put over her mouth she got up and grabbed her sword.
“Cenred’s men” said Arthur. Merlin stood behind Arthur, she stood next to Arthur sword ready. Cenred’s men came running down the hill towards Merlin both Rose and Arthur pulled him behind them before starting at fight with one of the men. She focused on the man she was fighting with and killed him. She turned around to see that Balinor was fighting in front of Merlin protecting him. A man came up behind Merlin and Rose ran over to help him but another one of Cenred’s men came over and she ended up in a fight. She killed that one quickly to see that Merlin had his sword knocked out of his hand and was about to be struck. She ran over to catch the blow but Balinor caught her around the middle and pushed her out the way taking the stab wound. Merlin caught him and sent the last one back with magic. They both fell to the floor, Rose got down to the floor, so she was knelt over him.
“I am glad to see that both my children have got my talents, Merlin, Rose” said Balinor.
“No please” said Rose.
“I can save you” said Merlin. They both started crying over Balinor. He was dying and it was horrible to watch, she had only just found out he was her father, it did not seem fair.
“Listen to me, when you face Kilghara, remember be strong, a dragon heart is on the right side not the left” said Balinor.
“I can’t do this” said Merlin.
“listen to me, you are both my children, I’ve seen enough to know you will make me proud” said Balinor. He stroked Merlin’s face before dying in Merlin’s arms.

Rose whipped her tears away and noticed that one of Cenred’s men was coming towards them. She fought against this one and killed him before facing Arthur who came out of the trees.
“Merlin?” questioned Arthur. Merlin whipped away his tears before looking at both Merlin and Rose. “He’s dead” said Merlin sadly.
“NO!” shouted Arthur slamming his sword into the floor in anger “Camelot is doomed”. Rose shook her head.
“It’s not doomed we’ll deal with it, come on let’s go back to Camelot” said Rose. She shared a horse with Arthur as they set of home.

They went back into the war room where everyone was gathered. Merlin and Rose stood behind Arthur holding hands.
“I'm sorry, Father. I failed you. The last dragon lord is dead” said Arthur. Merlin squeezed her hand at this she squeezed back they both tried not to cry and reveal themselves.
“There are many years where I would have wished for his news” said Uther. Rose squeezed Merlin’s hand harder than before her anger rising this was all Uther’s fault, he had destroyed so many lives and he destroyed Rose’s life it was his fault her whole life had been a lie.
“All is not lost, Father. We must fight the monster ourselves. So, let us ride out and fight on our own terms: on open ground, on horseback, where we can manoeuvre better” said Arthur.
“There’s no point” said Uther.

Rose let go off Merlin’s hand and stepped forward to stand next Arthur.
“So what? We stand here, watch Camelot fall, he has a point” said Rose. Sticking up for Arthur and knowing that if she agreed she would appear to not want to help Kilghara and then manage to get him away to safety.
“You have my blessing” said Uther.
“I need a dozen knights! Those who do not wish to fight can do so without stain on their character. For those brave enough to volunteer should know, the chances of returning are slim” said Arthur. Leon stepped forward; Rose stepped forward in front of Arthur next to Leon. A group of knights then circled Arthur with Leon and Rose. Everyone left the room and Rose went to her room and got into her armour she then went to the armoury to find herself a cloak. Leon came over to her.
“Here, have this, keep it” said Leon. He gave her a cloak and she wrapped it around herself. He helped her clasp it around herself, she had her knight’s cloak.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“it’s my old one, you are a similar size to me to when you when I became a knight” said Leon. She smiled and gave him a hug.
“Thanks Leon” said Rose. 

They went to a field outside of Camelot and she heard Kilghara fly down. She looked up the see him fly down. They put their horses into the circles and Rose made sure she was close to Merlin he was not wearing chainmail.
“Hold! Hold! Hold!” shouted Arthur. The dragon flew down and that’s when Arthur gave the order for them to spread out. The idea was to distract him.
“Kilghara, you don’t have to do this? I am here, we can talk” said Rose into his head.
“I have to do this they are attacking me” said Kilghara into her head. She attempted to get her horse to stand close to the dragon, but she couldn’t. He knocked everyone off their horse including Rose. He blew fire at the ones that were still on their horses and she screamed.  Kilghara turned around to look at her Arthur ran forward stabbing him in the armpit. He sent Arthur flying in pain. Arthur laid unconscious.

Then it happened Rose and Merlin got up together. She had Balinor’s voice in her head she looked to Merlin to see he seemed to be having the voice in his head.
“You both are the last dragon lords now. You both alone carry the ancient gift. Deep within yourselves, you must find the voice that you and Kilghara, share, for your soul and his are now connected. When you speak to him as kin, he must obey your will” said Balinor’s voice in her head.
“Dragorn. Non didlkai. Kari miss, epsipass imalla krat. Katostar abore ceriss. Katicur. Me ta sentende divoless. Kar… krisass” said Merlin and Rose in the dragon tongue at the same time. Kilghara sat down his hind legs and bowed towards Merlin and Rose.

Merlin picked up a spear and held it up.
“I am the last of my kind, Merlin. Whatever wrongs I have done, do not make me responsible for the death of my noble breed” said Kilghara sadly. Rose shook her head at Merlin and stood in front of Kilghara.
“You will not harm him” said Rose.
“Rose move out of the way” said Merlin.
“I am a dragon lord too and I am telling you not to hurt him, what he has done has been anger over being locked up for over 20 years” said Rose.
“I promise I won’t hurt him, now move” said Merlin. She decided to believe him and moved slowly readying her magic in case he decided to change his mind “Go! Leave! If you ever attack Camelot again, I will kill you!”.
“He has shown you mercy” said Rose.
“What you have both shown me is what you will be merciful and kind, protective until the end, I’m sure our path’s will cross again” said Kilghara before flying up and out of sight. Arthur started to stir, and she ran over to him and knelt over him. He opened his eyes and sat up.
“What happened?” asked Arthur.
“You dealt him a mortal blow” said Merlin.

Arthur looked relieved and happy for the first time in days.
“He’s gone” Asked Arthur.
“Yeah you did it” said Rose. He wrapped his arm around her and started to laugh insanely. She helped him up and they walked back to Camelot. Arthur walking ahead of Merlin and Rose, they arrived into the castle grounds and Rose had never been so happy to see the white turrets that had become her home. Gwen ran over and hugged Arthur. He hugged her back. She put her arm out and caught Rose in the hug. So, she had one arm around Arthur and one arm around Gwen.
“I thought I lost you both” said Gwen.  Gaius came and hugged Merlin. Rose, Arthur and Gwen went into the castle. She felt like for the first time in a while, things were looking up.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been over a year since Morgana had gone with Morgause and Rose had been on every single search for her. She had made sure to improve in her skills of tracking and combat as most of the patrols were dangerous and usually ended with a fight or battle. She would wear a helmet sometimes to conceal her identity and sometimes she would go as herself. Arthur was still her temporary guardian and Gwen would take care of her more feminine needs because sometimes Arthur was a bit clueless.

She had grown a lot in the year and a half. She had developed a lot and was starting to look more like a young woman even though she was just turned 13. The year had been similar she would have schooling with Gaius, training with Arthur, the only difference being no more evening chats with Kilghara and no more Morgana. She had missed her guardian so much worrying about how she was. They were on a search for Morgana, and they had found a patrol that were all laying on the ground. She stood next to Arthur who was looking around.

It was raining everyone’s hair was plastered to their head. The year had proved a lot to Rose she could search in any weather in the winter she had wondered around in Arthur’s winter coat which came down to her knees.  She was interrupted of her thoughts by Arthur lifting his hand up get everyone’s attention.
“Check for survivors,” said Arthur. Rose looked around the battlefield and noticed that the footprints of the attackers were heading north.
“Their attackers are heading north” said Rose pointing to the tracks in the ground. Arthur gave her an approving smile.
“Come on” said Arthur.

They all walked back to their horses. Rose and Arthur walked along side each other while Merlin walked behind them.
“Are you sure it’s good idea to follow them?” asked Merlin. Arthur turned to face him giving him a look.
“You’re such a girl’s petticoat, Rose is tougher than you” said Arthur he turned to look at Rose who was on her horse already waiting for them to stop bickering so they could head off. They moved their horses into some trees, and they rode for a while.
“Ow” said Merlin suddenly. 
“Are you alright?” said Rose.
“I have been on a horse all day and you had camp packed away at the crack of dawn” said Merlin grumpily.
“Is your little bottom sore” asked Arthur teasingly.
“It’s not as fat as yours,” said Merlin.

Everyone chuckled at this comment. The conversation faded away as she heard a voice in her head.
“Once the fights starts, I want you to duck out of sight” said Morgana’s voice in her head it had been so long since she had heard it her heart skipped a beat. They found a bandit camp, and everyone got off their horses. Once the battle began Rose did duck out of sight.
“I am out of sight, where are you” said Rose’s telepathic thoughts to Morgana. She couldn’t see her, so chances are the telepathic message was also heard by Merlin.
“Turn right, then turn left and go into the clearing” said Morgause’s voice in her head. She went into the clearing and saw Morgana standing there looking dirty and dishevelled.
“Come here” said Morgana. Rose ran over and hugged her tightly.
“I have missed you so much” said Rose. She then stepped back and hugged Morgause.

They both stepped back and smiled at each other, being around Morgana again made her so happy.                   “Take me to Arthur” said Morgana. Rose nodded and wrapped Morgana’s arm around her shoulder.
“You know what you need to do” said Morgause. Morgana nodded and Morgause disappeared in a puff of smoke. Rose took Morgana to the group and she noticed that Arthur was pointing his sword at them ready for another attack. His face went from defensive to realisation seconds.
“Morgana” said Arthur.  They got Morgana on the front of Arthur’s horse both Merlin and Rose kept looking at each other. Rose was so happy to get her home.

They got to Camelot at night-time and Rose went straight with Morgana to their chambers. She helped her clean up and get into a night dress before Gaius came in to do checks on Morgana. Rose laid next to Morgana her head on her shoulder and Morgana had an arm around her. Rose started to fall asleep the exhaustion she shut her eyes.
“You need some rest; do you want me to get Merlin to pick her up and put her in her own bed?” asked Gaius. Morgana shook her head and Rose felt the grip on her get tighter.
“No, she stays with me, she looks exhausted,” said Morgana. She felt Morgana lean her head on her head before they both fell asleep.

Rose woke up next morning feeling lighter than she had the whole year. Morgana was still asleep wrapped around her. She got up slowly and went to the window. She got her letter from Mordred and it was the usual he was safe in Cenred’s kingdom. Rose informed him about Morgana’s return and sent it on the raven again. Rose looked at Morgana who was waking up she jumped at the emptiness of the bed, Rose went over to her, so she was sat with her on the bed.
“I was worried he had got Merlin to move you,” said Morgana.
“Nah, I had a letter to write,” said Rose.

They smiled at each other. Rose got up and let a guard know to let Arthur know that she was awake. She went and sat back down with Morgana. She cupped Rose’s face.
“You have grown,” said Morgana.
“Yeah, I turned 13 a few weeks ago, I was worried I would never see you again,” said Rose. Morgana hugged her and then Arthur came in. He also looked he had a weight taken of his shoulders and he smiled when he saw Morgana. He sat down next them and hugged her.
“Where have you been all this time?” asked Arthur.

Rose put her arm around Morgana to give her some support.
“I was kept in a cell for almost a year, I thought I would go mad,” said Morgana.
“How did you escape” asked Arthur.
“I was moved a week ago and while they were distracted, I managed to get away, but one found me, Rose killed the bandit and took me back to you,” said Morgana. She dissolved into tears and Arthur hugged her. Merlin entered the chambers and stood their looking nervous.
“It’s okay, your safe now” said Arthur.
“I think I need to rest” said Morgana. They looked up to see Merlin standing there. Arthur got up and left the room. Merlin went to follow him “Merlin, I wish to speak to you, Rose can you give us a minute” Rose nodded and left the room to give them some space.

She spent the rest of the day in Gaius’s chambers reading books and writing things down to memorise them. Rose decided to go back to her chambers after eating with Merlin and Gaius. She went to bed after being told about the feast the next day. She woke up next day and went to the training ground to train with Arthur. They were battling with a blind fold it was nice to be able to train properly after all the searching they would end up not training or training on the search party.

She fought Arthur alongside blind folded using her other senses to un-sword the other knights she took off the blind fold at the same time as Arthur they blinked at the sun light.
“Let’s change weapons” said Arthur they went over to Merlin, and he passed them a drink each they drank from it “what did you think?”.
“Rose was better,” said Merlin. Arthur laughed.
“Of course, well you are an expert in fighting with your eyes closed,” said Arthur.
“Now, now children, let’s get back to it, we’ll maze,” said Rose.
“I won’t use a blind this time, I’ll fight like Merlin,” said Arthur. He got the maze and pretended to be scared before winking at Merlin. Rose didn’t like this, so she used magic at the same time as Merlin, she magicked him to lose his sword and Merlin magicked him to lose his footing. He was hit by the maze in the stomach, and he fell into the mud. Rose and Merlin high fived discreetly before getting up to help Arthur.

They stood over him with an amused smirk on their faces he looked up to them.                                                      “One day I hope you would develop sensitivity, but no still a dollop head,” said Merlin.
“I am not a dollop head” moaned Arthur. Rose and Merlin laughed and nodded before grabbing a hand of Arthur’s and helping him up. After that she went back to the castle to get ready for the feast. Morgana wasn’t in the chambers, so she sat down and started doing her hair. Gwen came in with a blue dress.
“Where’s that from?” asked Rose smiling at the dress it was her size and it was a very grown-up kind of dress.
“Arthur got me to get it from the marketplace,” said Gwen.
“I love it” said Rose. She got into the dress with Gwen’s help. It was a beautiful dress it was flowing, and it made her look like a lady. Gwen smiled before doing her hair in a bun at the top of her head. Morgana came in ready for the feast.

Rose hadn’t had much time to find out what had happened with Morgause. She had a feeling it wasn’t as bad as she was making out to people. They went to the feast and the wine was flowing. Rose had wine at the last feast to try it and she quite liked it, so she sat sipping her wine slowly. Uther slammed his fist on the table and sat up to get everyone’s attention. “Standing here, seeing so many happy faces, seems almost like a dream. I can tell you; I have not felt like this in a long time” said Uther looking at Morgana with a warm smile.
“What drunk?” joked Arthur. Everyone laughed and Uther hit Arthur around the head jokingly. “Drunk with happiness. I would have searched the entire world, the seas, the skies, the stars, for that smile. To have it stolen from me was like a blade to my heart. Morgana, there are no words. You mean more to me that you will ever know. To Lady Morgana,” said Uther. Rose felt a warmness enter her it was an odd feeling it was like she was heating from the inside. She got up while they were toasting Morgana and left the room for some fresh air. 

She got the courtyard area and breathed in the fresh air feeling a lot better. Uther joined her a few minutes later.
“Have you come out for some air as well” asked Uther kindly Rose nodded. A sound came from the well making them both jump with freight. It was like a screaming sound a terrible screaming sound, then whispering he signalled for her to stay there. Uther approached the well and looked in he looked at her with relief and he started laughing. He turned away and then he started to scream loudly Rose ran over to him and investigated the well Ygraine was soaking wet holding onto his arm. Rose unclasped her hand and she let go.

Uther fell back into her once he was out of her grip. She used magic to slow down time to get them both to the ground safely. No one saw not even Uther seemed to notice that she had used magic he carried on screaming and ended up whimpering and crying.

His head was in her lap and he rocked backwards and forwards. She put one hand on his head to avoid him hurting himself.
“Guards!” shouted Rose over Uther’s sobs. A few guards came running over “get me Arthur, Merlin, Gaius and Morgana, now, with haste”. She didn’t bother with official title. They ran away and Rose attempted to sooth the crying king in her arms.
“Ygraine, why is she in the well, it’s my fault, it’s my fault,” cried Uther.
“Shush” soothed Rose. He took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. He continued rocked and this caused her to rock with him.

It felt ages before the guards bought Arthur, Gaius, Merlin and Morgana to her.
“Get him to his chamber,” said Gaius. Merlin and Arthur attempted to get him up between them, but he wailed and held Rose tighter. Arthur looked at a loss.
“Sire come on get up,” said Rose. She started to move out from underneath his head “I need Arthur
and Merlin’s help me to get you off the floor, I am not going anywhere” Uther stared at her for minute before letting them get him off the floor. Rose was happy to be standing again. Uther was staring at her.

They took him to his room he seemed to pass out of the way, so he was a dead weight between them both. Morgana pulled the covers back as Merlin and Arthur put him on the bed.
“Be careful, will he be alright,” said Morgana.                
“He should sleep till morning” said Gaius giving him a sleeping draft to keep him sleeping. Rose stood their stunned completely unbelieving of what had just happened. A few tears unwittingly went down her face.

Merlin wrapped his arm around Rose and started to walk her from the room, Arthur and Gaius followed them quick and stood in the corridor outside of the room. Arthur rounded on her.
“What happened” demanded Arthur dramatically.
“I went for some fresh air and then he came and joined me, he then went over to the well and started screaming,” said Rose.
“What would have caused that?” asked Arthur.
“I have no idea,” said Gaius. He started to walk away from them with Merlin.
“Gaius he was laying on the floor crying,” said Arthur.
“It could be exhaustion,” said Rose. She had noticed how tired he had been that night and he had a bit to drink. Why had Ygraine been in the well?

She couldn’t say she saw it would make her like a crazy person.
“What aren’t you telling me?” asked Arthur looking at Rose with a suspicious look. She rolled her eyes at him and then looked nervous as Arthur was standing over her in his anxiety and stress.
“He was screaming about Ygraine, he claimed to see her in the well, he was inconsolable,” said Rose. He put his hands on her shoulders and stared at her in shock.
“Did any of the guards see this,” shouted Arthur. She didn’t answer him straight away, so he gave her a shake. Merlin intervened and pulled Rose out of Arthur’s grip and stood in front of her giving him a warning look.
“Stop shouting at me! No, they came when he was screaming but they don’t know what he was screaming about, I was too focused on the fact the king was screaming in my arms to care that the guards to see, I didn’t do anything wrong, in fact if it weren’t for my actions, he would hurt himself” said Rose in an annoyed voice. She then took Merlin’s hand stormed off taking him with her. 

She took Merlin to her chambers and they sat down on her bed. She pulled him to a hug after what she had experienced.
“Ygraine was in the well, it was horrible,” said Rose.
“Sorry, what,” said Merlin. Rose shuddered and told him the real story about what she saw. She assumed it was an enchantment on Uther but because of her magical abilities “Rose gets some rest; I’ll speak to Gaius”. She listened to him and laid down and he left the room. She rolled on to her side and thought about it all. She was feeling conflicted because she hated Uther because of the fact his actions resulted in her life being a lie and it was because of his actions she was never going to know her father. At the same time, he had been so broken in her arms he was so sad and broken.
 Morgana came in and got her shawl and left the room in a secretive manner. Rose got up and followed her out the castle.

She followed her on foot as Morgana used a horse. She hid behind a tree as Morgana got of her horse and went over to Morgause.
“The king is going mad, the mandrake works,” said Morgana.
“Before you continue, Rose I know you’re here I can sense you” said Morgause. Rose knew that the game was up, so she came out from behind her tree. The blood guard raised their weapons.  Rose raised her hands up.
“Don’t kill me, I am high priestess too,” said Rose. The blood guard stared at her before bowing to her. She bowed back before facing Morgause and Morgana. The three of them stared at each other until Morgause broke the silence she went over to Rose and cupped her face.
“You seem troubled” said Morgause. Rose nodded and hugged Morgause.
“I hate it, I was there with Uther when he had his mental breakdown, I saw the hallucination and I had to pretend like I cared but I don’t,” said Rose.

“I can imagine this being conflicting, you want Uther’s reign to end” said Morgause. She sighed and looked closer at Rose “unfortunately I can’t do anything about you seeing Uther’s hallucination you can see through enchantments”
“Yes, it is both good and bad, but I don’t want people to get hurt” said Rose. She wasn’t sure if she completely did or not. She was starting to wonder if this was divided in the allies that Kilghara told her about. 
“Yeah, I understand that” said Morgause.
“I wish there was a way to get rid of guilt,” said Rose.

Morgause smiled and cupped her cheek again her eyes flashed gold and Rose fell backwards unconscious. Morgause caught and lowered her down to the floor before grabbing a stick in and circling her. Morgana watched with interest.
“besinge þéos bearn æt frēde ġetwisan inwitwrásn, casul híe bréostloca freodom fram eofot, bewlátung den elemidde aet se ealde æwfæstnesse and úre gefégednes aet hláfordsearu sácerda” said Morgause. A bright light came as she did her spell, and it went into the sleeping Rose.
“What did you do to her?” asked Morgana.

Coming forward to look at her sleeping ward.
“It’s a simple enchantment to get rid of guilt and to keep her loyal to the old religion and us” said Morgause. Morgana looked at her and smiled at her.
“Will she still be able to see Uther’s hallucinations” asked Morgana.
“Unfortunately, yes but it won’t send her mad like it is Uther, but it may upset her and it may drain a bit of her energy make sure she rests, I can’t take away all her emotions otherwise I would, I care for her deeply and hate the idea of her being hurt” said Morgause. Morgana hugged Morgause and they both smiled. Morgause took a healing bracelet and put it on to Rose’s wrist.
“Something we have in common,” said Morgana. She got to floor and picked up Rose and the mandrake and headed back to Camelot.  

Rose woke up in Morgana’s bed the next morning feeling confused, she looked around. Morgana was out of the room, so it was just her. Had last night been a dream she remembered Morgause cupping her face and then she had fallen asleep. She was so confused. She sat up and got dressed before heading out of her chambers. She went to the council chambers and sat down next to Morgana, she took her hand and squeezed. Arthur was stood in front of Uther.
“There have been reports that mercenaries are streaming into Cenred's kingdom” said Arthur
“Do we know why?” asked Uther.
“It is rumoured that Cenred is assembling an army, I think we should send out a patrol to see what was going on,” said Arthur. A new hallucination came back Rose saw it she wished she didn’t see it.

A boy was dripping wet he was blue with death and he had water coming out of his mouth. Uther stared at its past Arthur “Father?”. Arthur looked around to see what he was looking at and so did everyone else. Rose looked to Morgana and squeezed her hand. Rose gave an involuntary shudder, a lump building in her throat and Merlin looked directly at her. Uther got up and stared further at the boy.
“Please don’t hurt me” gurgled the child. The voice of the child was stuff of nightmares.
“Leave me alone,” said Uther. He pointed to the boy and it looked really terrifying the water from the boy’s mouth and nose, the water coming dripping from the clothes.

Even though Rose knew it was an enchantment on Uther it hurt to see that boy he was so young “get out of here”. Arthur stepped forward and Rose stood up staring at the same spot Uther was the boy looked so young.
“Father, we...,” said Arthur. Uther stepped around him and pointed to the boy again.
“GET OUT!” Shouted Uther. “I’ll have you hanged”. Rose rolled her eyes the boy was already dead what would hanging him do. They can’t just execute him twice. Arthur and Leon got him between them and dragged him from the room while he still shouted about hanging the boy. Gaius followed and Rose stared at the spot where the boy had once been, she let a tear fall down her cheek. Morgana got up then and wrapped her arms around her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay” soothed Morgana.

 They left room and went to their chambers. Rose hugged Morgana and she sat down on the bed. “What was he seeing” asked Morgana.
“A boy he drowned during the great purge, he was so young, he didn’t deserve to die” said Rose. She had a few more tears go down her face. Morgana came over and gave her a hug.
“I think you should get some sleep” said Morgana Rose laid down on the bed and shut her eyes and she fell asleep. She awoke sometime later with a jump she had a sense that something was wrong. Her magic was tingling inside her she looked at the window to see that the sun was coming up she had slept for a whole day and night she sat up and saw that Morgana was asleep in her bed. She tapped into magic to see what it was trying to tell her.

She shut her eyes and saw it was Merlin. Her magic was telling her he was in trouble. She got dressed and stood at her window to see if there was any sign of him in the lower town. Gwen came in and helped Morgana dress before she stood at the desk arranging some flowers. Gaius came in and looked at Gwen and Rose.
“Have you seen Merlin?” asked Gaius. He looked worried and this caused Rose to worry after being awoken by his distress signal and now he was nowhere to be seen.
“Not since yesterday” said Gwen.
“Yeah, same I saw him yesterday, why?” asked Rose.
“Is there a problem” said Morgana. Gaius gave Morgana a suspicious look.
“I don’t know yet” said Gaius. Rose and Gaius shared a worried look.
“Merlin didn’t come home last night” said Gaius.
“That’s not like him” said Morgana. Rose left the room and went straight to Arthur’s chambers to see if Merlin was there. He was not there she then went to the stables, then the armoury, then the library but he was nowhere to be found. It became night-time and Rose hadn’t found Merlin. She was anxious worried about her brother.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose went to Gaius’s chambers for some schooling. She sat at the desk reading while Gaius made some potions and did some writing. Arthur burst in making them both look up at him in surprise.
“Where is that halfwit,” said Arthur.
“Do you mean Merlin” asked Rose. Staring at Arthur who was looking a bit worse for wear Rose rolled her eyes at him when he nodded.
“I have no socks, no breeches and an archery session to go to, Merlin!” shouted Arthur, towards this bedroom.

He then turned to face Rose and Gaius again giving them an exasperated look.
“I thought he was with you, sire,” said Gaius.
“He’s been missing since last night I haven’t seen him” said Rose. He stared at them in confusion and then he looked suspicious of them. He pointed at them both.
“Don’t try and cover for him,” said Arthur.
“Are you deaf, he’s missing,” said Rose.
“Well, if you find him tell him he’s the target” said Arthur. He then stormed out.

Rose looked to Gaius with a worried expression. Rose put her head on the table.
“Are you alright Rose” asked Gaius. Rose looked up to the old man’s face unsure how much to tell him.
“I am worried about Merlin,” said Rose. She had a flash of guilt maybe it was something to do with Morgana and Morgause this was replaced she didn’t need to feel guilty she felt nothing but loyalty to Morgause. They had the right idea take over Camelot and then magic would be free. No wait they can’t take over Camelot what about her destiny to protect Gwen. Her mind then went back to loyalty to the old religion. Well that was odd.
“He’ll be alright, try not to worry dear, would you like to stay for dinner” asked Gaius.

Rose nodded excitedly. They had dinner and Rose then fell asleep with her head in a book on the table while Gaius went to bed.
She was awoken with a blanket being rapped around her. She was then picked up. She looked to see who was handling her to see it was Merlin.
“Merlin, I’ve been so worried” said Rose. He laid her down on his bed and got on the bed next to her, she took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“It’s alright now” said Merlin. She smiled and felt the usual sensation of being hit with a sleeping spell.

The next morning, she woke up and went to her chambers. She changed into some clean clothes before heading out of the room. Merlin was walking on a separate corridor and got pulled behind a pillar by Morgana.
“I don’t know how you managed to escape, but I do know one thing: if you breathe a word of what you saw or heard to anyone I will make your life a short and painful one” said Morgana.                                                                       “I do not care for myself whatever spell you or your sister have put on Rose, I want you to reverse it” said Merlin in a hiss. Morgana sneered in his face and scoffed.
“No, she’s fine the way she is, you’ll never be able to fix her only Morgause or someone with ancient magic can fix her, you keep your mouth shut or I’ll tell everyone you tried to poison me” said Morgana she then shoved him back and walked away. 

A meeting was called in the council chamber Rose stood next to Morgana as Leon spoke to the group.                     “I estimate they will reach the city in two days” said Leon. Rose looked at Arthur he seemed so sad and defeated. He seemed lost for words, so Rose stepped forward.
“Whose banner do they march” asked Rose. Leon didn’t seem phased that she was being addressed by a lady of the court. The other knight around him started to look at each other weirdly.
“Cenred’s my lady,” said Leon.

Rose nodded her thanks at him then looked at Arthur “we knew he was creating an army”
“How many” asked Arthur getting his voice back giving a Rose an appreciative look.
“20,000 maybe even more” said Leon.
“I fear that the news of Uther’s illness has been spread beyond our borders” said Gaius Rose noticed that Merlin and Morgana were glaring at each other.
“Cenred sees an opportunity, then we must appease him,” said Leon.

Rose looked up from her guardian and brothers glaring match.
“No! Appease and Cenred don’t go hand in hand, he’ll have us all slaughtered before we could even offer him land,” said Rose. She looked at them “he was happy to watch one of his own outlying villages nearly starve, he won’t listen to reason”. Arthur looked at her and nodded.
“Rose is right, that is not what my father would do anyway, he wouldn’t bow to our enemies,” said Arthur.
“Forgive me sire, my lady but we are outnumbered two to one” said Gaius looking at both Arthur and Rose like they were crazy.
“Cenred cannot be reasoned with Gaius, it’s not ideal but it’s better to fight him than give into his demands, we are dead either way” said Rose.
“It would buy us time” said Gaius.
“It shows weakness Gaius” said Arthur. He walked over to the table sat down at the king end of the table “there is only one course of action available to us, we must prepare for a siege”.
“Are you sure that is wise” said Leon.
“The castle is our strongest weapon, no army has ever taken it, Rose how does Cenred’s army work” said Arthur.

Rose was shocked by being addressed she took a few seconds to respond.
“Cenred won’t join his army until he knows the battle is won, he usually sends out the soldiers before he sends out the knights, he’ll keep his strongest with him until the last moment” said Rose.
“What about the outlying village” said Leon.
“We’ll give them refuge in the city” said Arthur.

Arthur was showing great leadership even though he looked nervous he was holding his own and defending his decision he was planning with his heart not his ego and the nobility oozed of him.
“And what about their livelihood their houses, Cenred will destroy everything in his path” said Leon giving them a shocked look.
“If they were in the houses, he would kill them, they will lose their belongings, but they will have their lives” said Rose.
“Ready the army” said Arthur. He dismissed everyone and Rose went straight to the armoury to see if she could help. Rose helped get the armoury sorted with weapons before heading to bed.             

She woke up the next morning and got into her knights’ uniform with the helmet. No one knew who she was when she was in the helmet except Arthur and Leon. She started the day helping everyone in the armoury then she went to where all the knights were gathered.
“They will be upon us in hours” said Leon to the group. Rose nodded slightly he looked at her and rolled his eyes before going back to what he was doing. She didn’t want Cenred as king she moved out of his kingdom for a reason. She was ready to get into the battle.

She saw Arthur was getting everything ready and was speaking with Leon with Merlin following behind. Cenred’s army arrived Rose could hear them over the wall they were loud. Arthur came into the armoury dressed up in his armour ready to lead them into battle. He greeted a few of the knights she went into the shadows unsure if he would let her go into battle or not. It was probably a not he only let her join the search parties so she could learn how they worked, and Uther insisted she went.
“For the love of Camelot” said Arthur raising his sword. Everyone else did the same and repeated his shout except Rose who decided not to speak.

 They all got lead to the front line. Fire balls were thrown into castle knocking people over. Rose managed to dodge the first few. She was nearly hit by a fire ball, but it stopped. They broke down the fence and gate and they ran forward towards the barricade. She fought well and avoided the fireball being sent into the sky well however they were losing, and it was getting harder. She was distracted by Uther appearing next to her he barely seemed to notice her he fought against someone and then Arthur dragging him away.

Rose was sliced in the arm by one of Cenred’s men in the distraction. She killed him before going on to the next person. She didn’t feel the pain the adrenaline pumping through her veins got rid of pain.
“Fall back, retreat” shouted Arthur. They all ran to the square to help to defend it. Cenred’s men got over the barricade and advanced on to the citadel. She saw Arthur give Uther to Merlin.
“Rose” called Merlin’s voice in her head. She ignored it and carried on in the battle. She was doing well again until a blast of magic distracted her it stalled her for a minute or two, and she was slashed in the side.

Leon killed the person she was fighting against. Then they both killed another one before Leon bent whisper in her ear.
“Rose, you have to go get medical help” said Leon in her ear looking at the red on her arm and her side. They killed another few opponent before Rose looked past Leon as some skeletons walk towards them.
“I can’t get to the hospital right now” muttered Rose.
“Why?” asked Leon. Rose just pointed and Leon turned around and started to fight the skeleton. He then looked at everyone else “on me”.

They fought against the skeletons and they fought against Cenred men sometimes at the same time. This battle was going to be lost if they didn’t get rid of the skeletons. She fought against one of the skeletons and it collapsed to the ground. She sighed in relief and they went back to fighting with Cenred’s men.

The world seemed to slow down as Cenred’s men retreated from the lower town. She made her way towards the castle to get her arm looked at. The adrenaline started to slowly eb away and she fell to her knees as the pain started to kick in and she fell to the side, but she was caught before she hit the floor. She was picked up gently and carried into the castle how her helmet had managed to stay on she had no idea. She looked up to see it was a regular knight. She was laid on a table and she felt hands attempting to remove her helmets and pull up her chain mail.

She moved her head away and pulled the chainmail down before she was revealed. She deepened her voice and spoke.
“I would like a bit of privacy please” said Rose in a deep voice surprising herself about everyone not realising it was her. She looked at Gaius who attempted to pull the chainmail up. She pulled it down again desperate for someone to realise.

She couldn’t expose herself because Uther would have confined to her chambers every fight for the next ten years.
“Boy, let the physician treat you, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before” said Uther.  Rose rolled her eyes in her helmet she was losing consciousness and the last thing she needed was her half naked torso being seen by the whole army, it was something they hadn’t seen before on a knight. Leon came over and Arthur followed by Merlin came from a different angle to see what all the fuss was about. Great now she had a crowd of them now, if she couldn’t get her point across soon, she was exposed in more ways than one.  
“I demand privacy” said Rose again in a deep voice.  

Leon picked up her sword and showed it Arthur pointing to something on the sword he winced.
“Merlin, take the knight to Gaius’s chambers, make sure not to take off the helmet until you get there, Gwen go and help them” said Arthur. Merlin came over and picked her up gently she wrapped her arm around him.
Merlin carried Rose to Gaius’s chambers and laid her own on the patient’s cot. He pulled off her helmet both Gwen and Merlin gasped.
“Rose what were you thinking?” asked Merlin. He sat her up and Gwen helped Rose take off the chainmail. She started to fall asleep as the adrenaline started to ebb away completely. 

She got laid down on the patient cot again Gaius walked into the room looking annoyed.
“Now will you let me look at you sir” said Gaius. He turned to face the patient’s cot and looked at her with a shocked expression “I’m sorry”. He joined the group around the table giving Gwen and Merlin orders. Rose smiled before falling to sleep knowing that she was in good hands.

Rose woke up sometime later feeling better her wound were wrapped up. She looked around she was in her chambers. Morgana was sat on the bed next to her she was in Morgana’s bed. Rose sat up and Morgana pulled her to her.
“What were you thinking?” said Morgana.
“I don’t want Cenred to be king of Camelot” said Rose.
“Me and Morgause planned it so that I could take the throne” said Morgana.
“Oh, sorry, tell me next time” said Rose. Morgana nodded and rubbed her arms.
“I will get you more involved in our plans next time” said Morgana. Rose nodded and squeezed her. There was a knocking on the window, so Rose got up and went to the window and opened it. The raven dropped a letter into her hand and then obediently stood waiting for her reply.

Dear Rose

I hope you stay safe in the battle your face deserves betters. I am settled down in Ealdor at the moment and have been here for a few days. I hear there is a party to celebrate some young knights next week it would be lovely to see you.

Mordred.

Rose smiled and her heart skipped a beat she looked across to Morgana. “I am going to Ealdor next week” said Rose. Morgana looked at her nodded with a smile.
“Okay, I hope you have a good time” said Morgana. They both hugged and Rose got her bag and started to pack. Looking forward to seeing Mordred again.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose arrived in Ealdor at first light and made her way to Hunnith’s hut. She went into the hut and saw that her mother was still asleep. Rose smiled she decided to do something nice for her and started to cook some breakfast. She then poured out some tea and put it on the table with the breakfast of porridge.
“Mother” said Rose. Hunnith sat up in bed and smiled to see Rose was standing in her kitchen with breakfast. She got up and hugged her, Rose hugged back it had been ages since she had seen her. She had missed her. It was still weird calling her mother, but Rose decided to call her mother to remind her she is not to blame.

She was put in an impossible decision either have two magical kids to care for alone and have people judge her for having two kids and no husband or worse Uther and his men rocking up to find the last person Balinor that was seen with has two children with exactly the same appearance as Balinor or give up her child. Rose had taken a while to get used to it and it still hurt but she channelled her anger at the right people like Uther.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Hunnith.
“Tonight, is a party for a few of the village boys, Cenred has made them knights” said Hunnith.
“Yeah, I got a letter from Mordred,” said Rose. Hunnith looked at Rose with surprise.
“The new acting physician how do you know him” said Hunnith.
“We have met a few times but mainly we write letters to each other” said Rose. She spent the rest of day talking to Hunnith, she also checked on the life stock before heading to the village hall to help decorate it with garlands and flowers. She stood on a stool to tie up one of the flowers to the pole at the side of the room.

She stepped back without thinking and fell backwards she was ready for the floor to hit her, but she felt the sensation of time slowing down and she was caught and put on her feet. She turned around and smiled as she saw Mordred stood in front of her. She hugged him and he hugged her back.
“It has been too long” said Mordred he put his arm out for her to link “walk with me”. She linked his arm and they walked around the village. Rose told him about everything the dragon lord stuff, finding out who her real family were and Morgana’s plan to take the throne. They talked for hours like they usually did until the party.

Rose was stood in the village hall as she watched everyone dance around her to music by a local band it was usual for village parties. She stood and drank some wine from a goblet. Mordred approached her and put his hand out to her.
“Dance with me,” said Mordred. She took his hand and he led, her to the dance floor. It was weird that they were so close she felt comfortable with him.

They danced a very fast dance and then it was a slow dance during the slow dance she put her head on his shoulder. Once that dance finished, she went to get her drink and sipped at her wine.  She looked around and notice Mordred leave the party she followed him, and they stood outside the party.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose.
“Yeah, I am good thanks just needed some air,” said Mordred.
“Yeah, it is warm in there,” said Rose. He picked her hand and held it in his she put her spare hand over his hand.
“I have missed you,” said Mordred.
“Me too, so may I ask, why are you staying here” asked Rose.
“I saw that they needed a physician and I wanted to stay in one place, and I wanted an excuse to see you more,” said Mordred.

Rose was touched by this comment she had never had anyone care about her in this way.  They stared into each other’s eyes the connection was stronger than ever. She pulled him into the shadows, and they kissed she wasn’t sure who kissed who. She wrapped her arms around his waist while put a hand on her back and one hand in her hair. They finished the kiss and went back into the party.

The next few days Rose relaxed into the village life with Mordred and Hunnith. She enjoyed their company, and they were the calmest people ever. Rose would keep kissing and stuff with Mordred in private only Hunnith knew about their relationship but no one else did. Rose was in Mordred’s house helping him make some potions when she heard shouting from the outside. She went to the doorway to see what was going on. She saw a few of the knights of Camelot were standing over a man with brown wavy hair and a child who was favouring one leg.
“Stay here, the Camelot knights are here” said Rose to Mordred before heading out of the house and walking forward she stood next to the man “what’s going on?”. The knights bowed to her.
“They were attacking a druid camp and were chasing this girl down even though she was injured” said the man with an angry voice.

The girl was looking injured Rose stepped to the girl and picked her up. The girl wrapped her arms around her neck and cowered into her shoulder. Rose put her hand on her head to comfort her.
“Stand down! Cenred will have your heads if he found you in his lands,” said Rose. The knights looked at each other before running out of Ealdor. Rose took the child to Mordred’s hut and laid her down. She looked so frightened and small.
“Hello what’s your name?” said Rose soothingly to the child. She gave Mordred a fearful look, so Rose sent him out the front door with her eyes.  She felt so sad for the girl she looked so broken emotionally and physically. She had a black eye and a scratch down her face.
“My name is Kara” said the girl in a small voice.

Rose lifted her girls dress up to her knees to see that her ankle was broken.
“gebétee se bryce” said Rose her eyes glowed gold and the ankle was fixed.
“Thank you” said Kara politely.
“How old are you?” asked Rose.
“I’m 8 years old,” said Kara. She started to cry, and Rose hugged her pulling her on to her lap and held her to her “my whole family is dead, my mum, my dad, my brothers all dead” Rose put her hand on Kara’s head and sent a sleeping spell into her so she could rest. The girl went limp in her arms and Rose laid her down before heading outside.

The man who had saved Kara was speaking to Mordred Rose went over and picked up Mordred’s hand.
“How is the child,” said the man.
“She is resting, I’m Rose and this is Mordred, what’s your name,” said Rose. She put her spare hand out to shake the other man’s name.
“My names Gwaine,” said the man. He shook her hand and looked at them both. Mordred looked slightly nervous, but Rose squeezed his hand to give him some reassurance.
“It is lovely to meet you, stay for a few days” said Rose. They took Gwaine to Mordred’s hut and they lit a campfire in the garden of his hut and sat around it.

Rose left Mordred and Gwaine to talk while she went to the village hall to get some of the spare wine and mead from the party. She took it the campfire and the three of them sat Rose sipped on wine while Gwaine and Mordred drank mead.
“So, what’s the deal with you the Camelot knights bowed to you” said Gwaine pointing to Rose looking at her with interest.
“I am the lady Morgana’s ward,” said Rose.
“Then what are you doing here then” asked Gwaine.
“I grew up here then moved to Camelot when I was nine and been there ever since,” said Rose.
“How old are you now” asked Gwaine.
“I am 13,” said Rose.
“So, you’ve been in Camelot for a few years then” said Gwaine.

Rose nodded and leant her head on Mordred’s arm, he wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, so she cuddled into him.
“So, what about you then?” asked Rose pointing to Gwaine.
“I travel around, I fight, I go to taverns, not a fan of royalty” said Gwaine.
“How come?” said Rose. Gwaine seemed to misread her question and looked worried for a second.
“I don’t dislike you; you seem nice, my father was a knight in Carleon’s army, and he died, the king left my parents penniless” said Gwaine. They talked for the rest of the night until Rose and Mordred went to his hut. Kara was still asleep on the bed, so Rose and Mordred made themselves a bed on the floor.

Gwaine left the next day with some food for his troubles. The last few days of Rose’s stay in Ealdor Kara got used to being around Mordred it was cute to see them together. He would teach her the medicine skills while Rose would make sure that she was feeling better in herself. On her last day of her stay she got her horse ready. Mordred had a horse ready as well.
“Me and Kara will escort you to the border,” said Mordred. Rose smiled at this and then went to say her goodbyes to Hunnith before she headed on her way back to Camelot. Kara and Mordred shared a horse and Rose made her horse go alongside them.
“I am not used to riding” said Kara nervously.
“Don’t worry, Mordred will teach you, you are going to stay with him until you are old enough then you’ll go to a druid camp,” said Rose.

Mordred wrapped his arms tightly around Kara so that she felt more secure on the horse.
“Is that better” asked Mordred.
“Yes” said Kara. They got to the border by nightfall, so they got of the horses and tied their rope to a tree after this Rose made a fire.  While Mordred got the food out of his bag that he had packed for the journey Kara sat and watched them with interest.  The fire was soon roaring, and they were sat around while Mordred cooked some food on the fire while Rose sat and watched him with Kara sat between her legs.
“So, Mordred what are you cooking for us?” said Rose.
“I am making us a simple stew, it’ll be nice,” said Mordred.
“Hmm it smells nice, so Rose when are you coming back” said Kara.
“I’ll be back in a few weeks otherwise I’ll miss you both too much,” said Rose.

Mordred smiled at that comment and continued to cook for a while once the food was done, he gave them both a bowl before sitting down next Rose. They ate their food and then laid back on a log to stare at the fire.
“Kara watch this” said Mordred excitedly he started to make the shapes in the fire he did a rabbit running, a frog jumping and a deer galloping. Rose then caused a bear to walk on two legs and then caused a dragon to go into the smoke. Kara’s head lolled at landed on Rose’s shoulder, she looked down at the little girl to see she had fallen asleep.

Mordred got up and picked her and put her in a sleeping roll and laid her down by the fire before coming back to Rose he sat down next to her, and they laid back on the floor Mordred had his arm wrapped around her. She put her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist.
“I knew the fire shapes would send her to sleep,” said Mordred.
“Good, get to know her, she’s broken but she’ll get better,” said Rose.
“I will,” said Mordred. He picked up and her hand looked at the healing bracelet on her arm he then kissed her hand.
“I will miss you while I am in Camelot,” said Rose.
“I know you will but get magic back to Camelot or change the opinion of druids and I can come and live there,” said Mordred. Rose nodded and made it her life’s ambition to get magic back to the land whatever the cost she had a loyalty towards the old religion and that will never change.

The end.

Chapter Text

It had been two months since Rose had seen Mordred and she hadn’t had chance yet to go and see him, but he seemed to not mind the wait. He had sent her a necklace with stone on it shaped as a heart. Rose was doing her schooling with Gaius in his chambers. Morgana was seeing Morgause, and Merlin and Arthur were on a hunting trip. She smiled as she read her book.
“You seem happier since your trip to Ealdor,” said Gaius. Rose gave him a smile.
“It was nice seeing mother again,” said Rose. Gaius raised his eyebrow and that was when she realised that he knew about Mordred.
“Nothing to do with the new physician Mordred then,” said Gaius.

Rose nodded and smiled even brighter than before she probably looked like a love-stricken teenager, but she didn’t care.
“You know then” said Rose cheerfully she got up and went to get another book, but Gaius pointed to the bench, and she sat on it.
“Yes, I know about Mordred, your mother told me, I am acting as your unofficial guardian, so I need to know about this stuff, don’t worry though I haven’t told Merlin,” said Gaius.
“That’s good seeing as Merlin tries to kill him every time, he sees him,” said Rose.
“It’s his destiny to protect Arthur,” said Gaius.
“And it’s mine to fall in love with Mordred, he isn’t a bad guy I am making sure it doesn’t happen,” said Rose. Their conversation was interrupted by the door bursting open and Arthur and Merlin were carrying in Gwaine they carried him Merlin’s room. Rose jumped up and got the needle and thread and some honey before running into Merlin’s bedroom.

Gaius checked him over and took his jacket off. Rose couldn’t believe he was Camelot.
“Will he be alright” asked Arthur.
“He’s strong he’ll be fine,” said Rose. Smiling down at Gwaine.
“The man saved my life, he’s to be anything he needs” said Arthur he left the room and Rose laughed. Rose highly doubted that Gwaine knew who he was saving. If their conversation had anything to go by. Merlin and Rose watched Gaius stitch him before they left the room to leave him to rest. She picked up a book and carried on reading until she got sent to bed by Merlin.

The next day Rose woke up late morning and went to the kitchens to get Gwaine some breakfast. She wanted to get to him first to get him to keep quiet about Mordred as not everyone was going to be as understanding Gaius, Hunnith and Morgana were of the fact she was courting a druid and in Merlin’s case the druid that was destined to kill Arthur. She rushed to Gaius’s chambers to see that Merlin and Gaius weren’t there.

She went through to Merlin’s room and saw that he already had some breakfast.
“Oh, hello Rose” said Gwaine happily. “I heard you were injured saving a prince,” said Rose. She sat down on a chair by the bed and put the tray on the table.
“Yeah, Merlin told me, if I had known who he was, I wouldn’t had done” said Gwaine.
“Arthur isn’t too bad you know, it’s his father you need to watch out for” said Rose.
“Is Mordred here?” asked Gwaine excitedly looking around like he was about to come out of the cupboard.
“About that it’s best not to mention him, he’s banished from Camelot because he was a druid” said Rose. Gwaine looked at her and nodded giving her cheeky smile.
“I am glad to see you, the royal that doesn’t act like a royal” said Gwaine.
“You can say that again” said Merlin in the doorway.

He was giving Rose a questioning look.
“Can I help you?” asked Rose.
“You two seem to know each other” said Merlin.
“I met her about two months ago in Ealdor” said Gwaine calmly.
“Get yourself dressed and I’ll show you around,” said Rose. He nodded and tapped her hand. She got up and ruffled Gwaine’s hair on the way out as a joke.

She didn’t have to wait long before he got dressed and ready to go. They went to the lower town.
“How is Kara?” asked Gwaine.
“She is good, Mordred is taking care of her at the moment” said Rose quietly. She got distracted by a dress on one of stalls and went to look at it. Gwen seemed to take his eye and took a flower from a woman carrying flowers and approached Gwen.
“I believe this is yours” said Gwaine. Rose came forward and stood next to him.
“No, it’s really not my colour,” said Gwen. Gwaine gave a dreamy eyed look which made Rose laugh at how smooth her was.
“Let’s see” said Gwaine he put the flower into Gwen’s hair.
“I bet you do this with all the ladies,” said Rose. Gwaine put his hands out and showed they were empty.
“No, I only have flowers for her” said Gwaine giving Gwen a cheeky smile. Gwen tried to move passed, but he put his hand out to shake her hand “I’m Gwaine” she shook his hand and went to leave but he didn’t let go.

Rose was unsure whether to find him hilarious or be offended and tell him off for flirting with the future queen “You haven't told me your name. You look like a princess to me. So, it's probably something like Sophia or...or Esmeralda. That's it. Princess Esmeralda” He bowed to her.
“Stop it people are staring” said Rose noticing all eyes were on them.
“Not until I get this princess’s name” said Gwaine.
“It’s Gwen” said Gwen quickly she attempted to get around him again, but Gwaine got in her way again.
“Let me carry that for you, I don’t believe a princess should carry her own washing” said Gwaine. Rose laughed at how close to the truth he was even though he had no idea of her destiny. 
“Gwaine, give it up as a bad job, come on” said Rose dragging Gwaine away from Gwen, she turned around to see Gwen was laughing.

Rose laughed and showed him around a bit more. She dropped him off at the tavern before heading back to the castle. She heard some shouting coming from the guest quarters she walked through the castle see Merlin lifting a case that was far too big for him on to a cabinet in one of the guest quarters. She saw one of the knights who looked like a thug open the case, so its contents fell all over him and a piece of armour hit him on the head knocking him over.
“Oi, what do you think you’re doing” said Rose she went in and helped Merlin up he swayed slightly, he stayed on his feet, but he was a bit concussed from the way he looked.
“It was an accident” said one of the men. Rose could sense magic coming from them both and they seemed to find it funny bullying servants.
“No, it wasn’t I have eyes, you could have seriously hurt him, now if you’ll excuse me, I am taking Merlin off your hands, you are a knight act like one!” snapped Rose.

She then took Merlin’s arm and stirred him out of the room taking him to Gaius. Rose sat him on the patient bed before checking the back of his head. He had a bump on his head she touched it and he jumped.
“Ouch that hurt” said Merlin grumpily.
“I’ll stick something on that to reduce swelling,” said Rose. She made a salve and smeared it on the bump he kept flinching “it’s alright, I am done”. She smiled and sat down opposite him.
“Thanks” said Merlin.
“What are secret sisters for aye” said Rose smiling at him.
“They are awful!” said Merlin.
“They don’t look like knights one of them is fat,” said Rose. Merlin frowned at her with surprise.
“Neither of them is fat” said Merlin with a tone of surprise in his voice.

Rose looked around before remembering she had left Gwaine in the tavern and hadn’t gone to get him back yet.
“I got to go I will be back in a bit,” said Rose. She left and walked to the tavern to see what Gwaine was up to. She heard a lot of laughter and saw that Gwaine was buying everyone drinks.
“Rose my friend, have a drink” said Gwaine giving her tankard she took the tankard and put it down ignoring it. Deciding to keep a clear head.
“Can you even afford all this” asked Rose. Gwaine winked at her and shook his head before ordering another round. He got that round and Rose was ready for the fight that was about to happen she knew Gwaine had no money.

She didn’t touch the drink in case they decided she was in on it. Gwaine fell over and knocked into the bar man which angered him.
“You need to pay for what you have bought, then get out” said the bar tender looking cross
“I have no money” said Gwaine. The bar man looked angry and was looking at Rose.
“I can’t pay, I don’t have my own money yet,” said Rose. 
“He’s your guest” said the bar man.
“Well technically he’s prince Arthur’s guest,” said Rose. She attempted to leave but one of the bar men stood in front of her.
“No one leaves until this bill is paid” said the barman loudly. Rose sighed and then sat down at the bar and crossed her arms, she hadn’t even invited him Camelot. Gwaine got propped up by a bald man. Gwen poked her head through the door and Rose smiled at her.
“Get Merlin please,” said Rose. Gwen nodded and Rose attempted to negotiate.

Merlin came in quickly and noticed Rose sat at the bar before being given the bill from the bar man.
“You drank all this” said Merlin astonished at Gwaine.
“With some help from my new friends” said Gwaine happily in his drunken stupor. Rose looked around as everyone cheered.
“He says he hasn’t got any money, neither does the lady Rose but she was trying to help the man, but he was too far gone in his drunken manner, looks like you’ll have to pay it” said the bar man. He picked up Merlin by the collar and held him up, so they were face to face. Rose got up and moved forward slightly.
“I can’t afford this,” said Merlin.
“Put him down, that’s an order” said Rose with authority in her voice.
“You better find someone who can” said the barman putting him down.

Gwaine laughed and the man holding him up dropped him on to the ground. Rose stepped forward to stand to the side between Merlin and the barman to avoid more picking up of poor Merlin.
“He is Prince Arthur’s guest; he can pay for it, come on let’s go,” said Rose. Merlin and Rose went over to Gwaine and helped him up. They walked him through the town and to Gaius’s chambers they laid him on Merlin’s bed.
“You two are the best friends I’ve ever had” said Gwaine drunkenly.

“You’ve made quite a few tonight” said Rose and Merlin at the same time he laughed which made them laugh as well.
“Oh, I’d love to see Arthur’s face when he gets that bill, that Rose was a great idea” said Gwaine, she laughed. Merlin looked at him and then sat down next to the bed on a chair.
“Come on then what’s is it with you and nobles,” said Merlin.
“Oh nothing, I like Rose she doesn’t act like she is better than everyone else, my father was a knight in Caerleon’s army, he died in battle leaving my mother penniless, and when she went to the king for help, he turned her away” explained Gwaine. Rose nodded and decided to leave the men to it. She left the room and went to her chambers.

The next day seemed to go without much incident she got through the day but in the evening that is when things began to go a bit crazy. It was raining so Rose checked on the horses before heading back into the castle. She saw Merlin sneak into the two angry knights chambers she followed and listened at the door to see what was going on. She had her sword so was ready for anything that was coming after a few minutes she heard a crash and a yelp, so she burst in. Merlin was being used as target practice against the wall.
“I was turning down the bed clothes” exclaimed Merlin.
“You hear that Sir Ethan that he was turning down the bed clothes, not the thief I thought he was” said Sir Oswald.
“Oi, what’s going on?” asked Rose.

Rounding the room to get the side of room which Merlin was on, he looked panicked, Rose stood in front of him protectively.
“Nothing so leave my chambers now” said Sir Ethan.
“I am not leaving without Merlin so let us both go, or I stay,” said Rose.
“Not happening, the servant tried to rob me,” said Sir Oswald.
“Looks like I am staying then,” said Rose. Merlin moved away from the wall as the last knife came too close to be hitting him and Sir Oswald attempted to run his face through with a sword.
“I thought you might be cold,” said Merlin. Rose got between him and the knight and caught the blow with her sword.
“Off course you did” said Sir Oswald.

He attempted to get around Rose to get to Merlin, but Rose fought against him.
“This is not in the knight’s code,” snapped Rose as she fought against Sir Oswald. He disarmed her and she got her sword back and at that point he went for Merlin again he ducked.
“Is there a problem here” asked Gwaine.
“No. Now leave, get out both of you” said Sir Oswald to both Rose and Gwaine. Fat chance was she going to leave Merlin to the mercy of these thugs.
“You alright Merlin, Rose” said Gwaine going over to them both.

Merlin shook his head as Rose just stared at the two thugs not taking her eye off them in case, they started a new attack on Merlin.
“I told you both to leave” said Sir Oswald.
“And I told you I am not leaving without Merlin,” said Rose.
“I wasn’t speaking to you” said Gwaine.
“How dare you speak to a knight like that” said Sir Ethan. Raising his sword, Rose raised her sword and Gwaine got a sword out as well everyone was armed excepted Merlin.

They sword fighting for a while Gwaine would cover Rose and then she would cover Gwaine.
“Careful” shouted Merlin as Sir Oswald decided to go up behind Gwaine Rose kept herself positioned so she was stood in front of Merlin.
“Don’t worry I can handle this thug” said Gwaine. They both managed to disarm their opponents Rose got a punch in as well punching Sir Ethan as he attempted to get to Merlin from the side.

Leon entered the room with some knights behind him. Rose then realised how loud it all must have been their fighting she didn’t take her eyes of the two knights though.
“What’s going on,” said Leon. Gwaine turned around to look at Leon giving Sir Oswald the chance the hit him across the face knocking him to the ground. Sir Ethan looked to Rose, but Rose sword pointed at him.
“Don’t even try it,” said Rose.
“This man and girl attacked me; I want an audience with the king” said Sir Oswald. Rose rolled her eyes and dropped her sword before being restrained by two of the guards. Rose and Gwaine were taken to the throne room and forced on to their knees. Uther rolled his eyes when he saw Rose.
“Sire, this man and girl attacked me with a sword, tried to kill me” said Sir Oswald.

“Is this true, no one speak but Rose” said Uther looking at them both with shock and confusion.
“Sire, on my way back from checking on my horse in the stables I heard a crash coming from their chambers, I went in to see what was going on they had Arthur’s manservant pinned against the wall throwing knives at him, when I tried to calm the situation down, they demanded me leave so I couldn’t see them hurt Merlin so I defended him, he was unarmed man” said Rose.
“I stepped in to protect them both” said Gwaine.
“I tried to talk to them, it was like they were possessed, I’m sure sir Ethan will back me up” said Sir Oswald.
“I can vouch for every word” said Sir Ethan.
“You are a liar” shouted Gwaine attempting to go for them both the guards held him back.
“Hold your tongue do not speak to knight like that,” shouted Uther.
“Nobility is defined by what you do, and not by who you are, and these men are anything but” stated Gwaine glaring at Uther angrily.

Rose glared at the two knights as well they were going to harm a servant for no reason.
“They are arrogant thugs” said Rose angrily. Her anger was rising and so was alarmingly her magic she pushed it down but gave Merlin a look “if I start to show any signs, I am losing control you have permission to use a sleeping spell on me” into Merlin’s head. She looked at him and he nodded.
“Gwaine, Rose” said Arthur warningly.
“You see how they behave” said Sir Oswald. Her magic came up again and she pushed it back down again but didn’t know how long she would last.
“Speaking to us or not you had no right to attack on unarmed man for doing his job, I doubt Arthur would have thanked you for killing his man servant, that doesn’t show honour” said Rose shouting. She got up and the guards held her back. She looked to Merlin, and he knew exactly what to do. She felt the relief as she was hit by a sleeping spell, and everything went black.

Rose awoke the next morning in her chambers she sat up and looked around. It took her a minute to work out what had happened. Merlin was stood in the doorway of the anti-chamber.
“You are confined to your chambers for the day,” said Merlin.
“What happened?” asked Rose.
“You fainted from exhaustion according to everyone except me and you, the guards holding you jumped a mile when you fainted and let go so Arthur ran forward and caught you, Gwaine was banished, they decided you were just attempting to protect me, you have a few lectures coming,” said Merlin.
“That means I’ll miss the melee,” said Rose.
“Yes, about that, the two knights are using a camouflage to hide their true selves I should have guessed it really when you said they were fat, they intent to kill Arthur, see you later” said Merlin running from the room.

Rose sat in her room more confused than she was before.  She looked out the window and watched people go about their duties. She was shocked as she saw everyone come back to the castle in good health. Morgana came to the chamber and sat down with her.
“So, what happened at the Melee” asked Rose.
“Arthur was saved by that Gwaine guy” said Morgana bitterly.
“The thugs though were awful, there are better ways of getting rid of them,” said Rose. She couldn’t believe that came out her mouth. Where did that even come from, she didn’t want Arthur dead or maybe she did. No, she didn’t. That was odd it was like her mind was conflicted between the old religion and her own thoughts. What was going on? She looked out the window again to see Gwaine leaving he waved to her window, and she waved back before picking up a book and reading it. She had a feeling she’ll be seeing him again.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose was asleep she worried about Merlin he was on patrol with Arthur and hadn’t return yet. They were alone no knights just the two of them anything could happen. She had helped Uther arrange Morgana’s birthday feast for a few days’ time. A vision entered her mind it was Merlin entering a cave he looked into the crystals Morgana became queen, an old man walked towards the pyre, Merlin pulling Rose’s lifeless body out of the lake of Avalon. 
“Take me out of here,” said Merlin.
“Look into the crystal Emerys,” said an old seer. Rose had heard of him he was Taliesin, but he had been dead for a good three hundred years maybe it was his ghost.

He looked into the crystal the vision was Morgana stroking a rearing horse, Morgana unsheathing an decorated dagger, Morgana walking down a corridor in her red cloak and Rose in a purple cloak, red liquid dripping from someone's fingers, Merlin yelling near a blaze of fire, red-cloaked Morgana pulling the dagger from her belt in Uther's Chambers she used a silencing spell on the door before raising the dagger to strike, and Uther awakened with a shocked expression on his face. In real life Merlin collapsed to his hands and knees.

The vision changed in Rose’s head a red cloaked Morgana falling down the stairs and laid at the bottom of the stair’s unconscious covered in blood. Rose screamed as she woke up, she sat up in bed. Morgana came running over and wrapped her up in hug.
“Shush, it’s okay” said Morgana rubbing her back and stroking her hair. Rose got her breath back and fell asleep again being held by Morgana.

Rose woke up that morning and she did some reading and schooling until the evening and the news arrived that Arthur and Merlin were back. Everyone gathered in the council chambers to welcome them back to Camelot. Rose was so happy to see Merlin to see that he was alright. He looked distracted and a bit scared. He was jumpy and Rose could see he had a lot on his mind. She sat in her throne next to Morgana as Uther stood in front Arthur with Merlin stood next Gwen.
“The bandits have a stronghold somewhere in the white mountains, how we escape, I’ll never know, although some credit must go to my servant Merlin,” said Arthur.

Gwen nudged Merlin excitedly giving him a well done but he jumped Rose and Gaius looked at each other then looked at Merlin.
“Dispatch a patrol, I want these men caught and bought to justice,” said Uther.  
“Immediately, father,” said Arthur. The council was dismissed, and they all started to leave the room. “For a moment we feared you might miss Lady Morgana’s birthday” said Uther clapping him on the shoulder.
“It’ll take more than a bunch of thieves to keep me from such a feast” said Arthur looking back to smile at Morgana and Rose.
“Tomorrow promises to be quiet a night” said Uther happily. Rose turned to Morgana and looked at her.
“I just need to get a headache draft from Gaius, I’ll meet you in our chambers” said Rose.

Morgana nodded and squeezed her shoulder before heading towards their chambers. Rose ran to Gaius and Merlin’s chambers. Merlin was stood getting his bag of his back when she ran at him giving a hug, she had been so worried about him it was crazy.
“I missed you to Rose” laughed Merlin hugging her back. She stopped hugging him and hit him in the arm.
“That’s for going off with dead seers into the crystal cave on your own,” said Rose. Merlin eyes widened with horror.
“You saw that how” asked Merlin.
“I had a dream… actually it was a vision, it is all one of many futures, I saw Uther was going to get murdered” said Rose.
“who by” asked Gaius.
“Morgana” said Merlin. Rose looked up at that and something happened in her mind a loyalty towards Morgana and the need to never betray her or the old religion.

“From what I know she isn’t planning any assignation attempts, she too busy thinking about her birthday” said Rose honestly. Merlin gave her a look it was a strange look.                                                                        “I can’t believe Morgause taught her the silencing spell” said Merlin. Rose looked at him with surprise.  “I taught her that spell, before she left with Morgause” said Rose. Merlin and Gaius looked up at her with shock.                                                        “What? How much did you teach her” said Gaius sharply, he came closer to the table where she standing.                                                                             “I taught her the basics and also how to control her magic” said Rose simply.                                                  “Why would you do that after all I said about not letting her find out her magic,” said Gaius he came to stand in front of her. 

Rose rolled her eyes and gave him a glare backing up as bit as Gaius’s presence became a bit much.            “She set our chambers on fire and she was scared, I wouldn’t have needed to step in and help her if the adults in my life weren’t obsessed with keeping her in the dark” said Rose. She stood a bit further back “I was dealing with it all on my own cos you guys wanted her left in the dark and Kilghara would have probably set on fire if I took her to him, I regret nothing no one deserves to feel like a monster to feel ashamed of what she is”. She stormed out then as quickly as she could.

The next morning Rose had planned the whole day for Morgana to have a good day. They went for a ride in the morning which was good except to begin with Morgana’s horse, and they sat in their chambers getting ready in the afternoon for the feast. Morgana was sat at her desk while Rose got her present out of the cupboard.
“I got this for you, it’s magical,” said Rose. Morgana opened it and smiled at the blanket that Rose had bewitched with twinkling stars and moving waves on the blanket “and you can do this to not get caught” she did a spell and the blanket’s magical aspects stopped. Morgana hugged her with gratitude.
“I love it,” said Morgana.
“I got you something to be given to you at feast as well,” said Rose.

Gwen came in got them ready for the feast Morgana in long sleeved white dress and Rose in a purple dress with a purple cloak. She loved it they got to the feast and Rose sat next to Morgana. Uther had got her a necklace which he helped put on. It was a nice necklace. She then had another box come towards them Arthur looked up from his spot to smile at Morgana.
“Happy birthday,” said Arthur. Morgana smiled at him and opened the box. It was a dagger with a jewelled case it looked stunning, and it looked like the scene from the crystal it made no sense though Morgana had been keeping Rose in the loop for their plans and they hadn’t mentioned about killing Uther.
“Thank you, Arthur,” said Morgana happily.

Rose looked to Merlin who looked spooked and scared. Rose gave him a smile hoping it would cheer him up. The next box was from Rose it came to the table and Morgana opened it. It was a bracelet in graved with their names on it. Morgana pulled her into a hug.
“I think I prefer my first present” said Morgana in her ear. Rose nodded and pulled away giving her a wink. The feast carried on without incident and soon it ended.

Rose, Morgana and Gwen were in Morgana and Rose’s chambers counting out all presents she had been given.  Morgana was playing with her dagger.
“You have so many beautiful presents,” said Rose.
“Mainly hairbrushes” said Gwen picking up a mirror that engraved with flowers and Roses “Who’s king Gromause”. Rose looked at Morgana it was a secret name Morgause. She was so clever sneaking in a present even though she was a fugitive of Camelot she couldn’t help idolising her slightly. Morgana shrugged and smiled.
“At least he doesn’t think my hair needs brushing,” said Morgana.
“It’s so pretty” said Gwen looking at the mirror Rose took the mirror to look it herself and straight away felt the magic that was coming from it.  Morgana picked up a gold embroidered cloth and gave to Gwen.
“I want you to have this,” said Morgana.
“No, I couldn’t,” said Gwen.
“It’s a thank you,” said Morgana.
“Thank you,” said Gwen. She then left the room and Rose went over to Morgana and gave her mirror.

She blew on it and words appeared on the mirror “Sister, come to the darkling woods at midnight, bring Rose, Morgause” Both ladies got ready to go happily Rose hadn’t seen Morgause in ages she had missed her a lot. Also, she probably had something special planned for Morgana as well. They were ready and Morgana made sure she had her dagger.

They left the chambers and walked down the corridor towards the doors at the end the end of the corridor. It closed on its own and a fire torch swung at them both, but Morgana pushed Rose out the way before screaming as she fell down the stairs.
“Morgana!” screamed Rose she ran down the stairs and picked up Morgana’s torso she was holding her. She was breathing but barely and every so often she would gasp like she was struggling to breathe. Rose took a deep breath and shouted “GUARDS! I NEED SOME HELP”.  

Rose attempted to stem the bleeding from her head but there was no way she was going to be able to carry Morgana to Gaius. She heard footsteps coming down the corridor she looked up to see Arthur, Merlin, Gaius, and Gwen run towards her. Arthur scooped up Morgana and carried her to Gaius’s chambers Rose followed them. It was a blur of instructions and demands. Gaius stitched her wound.
“Will she be alright?” asked Gwen.
“We've done the best we can. I can heal her skin, Gwen, but the skull...the cranium is broken. She's bleeding inside,” said Gaius. Rose gave a small sigh before getting on the table putting her head on Morgana’s shoulder.

Morgana woke up with half lidded eyes wrapped her arm around Rose before passing out again. Merlin went to his room and Gwen left the room. Gaius pulled a blanket up, so they were covered up with a blanket.
“Rose, why haven’t you come” asked Morgause’s voice in her head.
“Morgana fell down the stairs she is close to death, don’t worry though I will heal her” said Rose into Morgause’s head. She couldn’t sleep she hated the idea that Morgana was going to die she wouldn’t let it. She attempted to get up a few times but Morgana’s arm around her got tighter. Merlin came through and noticed and attempted to lift Rose out of her grasp, but she got stronger and started to make loud sobbing noises.
“Stop, she’ll wake up the castle” said Gaius coming over to them. Rose shrugged laid back against Morgana and wrapped her arm around Morgana’s waist.

She fell asleep near dawn feeling completely exhausted.  She was awoken by Uther coming into the room. She shut her eyes not wanting to see his reaction to his dying ward.
“Why is Rose in the bed with her” asked Uther.
“Every time we have tried to move her Morgana gets distressed it’s like she can sense her being there,” said Gaius. Rose laid there pretending to be asleep.
“I cannot watch her die, Gaius,” said Uther.
“I wish there were something I can do” said Gaius
“No, you don’t understand, I cannot lose her, no matter what happens she cannot die,” said Uther.
“I will do everything I can sire,” said Gaius. Rose could sense that Uther wasn’t talking about naturally making her better the way he was wording it. He can’t be asking for Gaius to use magic.
“No Gaius what it takes, use whatever methods, I don’t care, you must save her,” said Uther.
“If I knew away,” said Gaius.

 Uther wasn’t hinting about magic he was soon going to asking for flat out magic he was a hypocrite telling Gaius to use magic on Morgana, yet he can execute people for using magic. 
“You’re not understanding me, Gaius, cure her, I don’t care what remedy you use” said Uther, she was surprised he hadn’t guessed yet that he was on about magic after a silence Uther continued “in all these books there must be something, something in the old religion”.
“Are you suggesting,” said Gaius.
“Sorcery, yes,” said Uther. Rose felt Morgana shift underneath her it was an odd feeling. Her hand tapping in a rhyme on her shoulder.
“But surely you’re not going to risk everything for Morgana,” said Gaius.
“Gaius you don’t understand there is something you should know; Morgana is my daughter,” said Uther. He told the story of Gorlois was away working for him and his wife got lonely, so Uther got into bed with her.

She couldn’t believe it the idiot king had betrayed his knight and lied to Morgana for years. “I’ve said enough, the people must never know who Morgana really is, for Arthur’s sake”.
“I can assure you sire your secret is safe with me,” said Gaius. She heard the footsteps as he left the room and then heard the footsteps as Gaius went to speak to Merlin. Rose fell asleep her head on Morgana’s shoulder.

Rose woke up sometime later it was darker and Gwen sat at her bed side. She looked exhausted.        “Go to bed” said Rose kindly. Gwen looked at her and shook her head.                                                                “I can’t what if she...” said Gwen trailing off sadly not wanting to say dies. Rose could tell and reached out and grabbed her hand.                                                      “We’ll send for you if anything happens, we promise” said Rose. Gwen looked at her and nodded before getting up.                                                        “Goodnight” said Gwen. She left the room.

Rose sat up slightly, so she was propped up on her elbow. She looked at Morgana and saw her eyes were moving.
“Morgana for me to heal you, I need to sit up,” said Rose. Morgana loosened her grip on Rose, and she sat up and put her hand on her head got all her magic ready and began.
“Ic sácerd of se thou eufiestnys gelácne Morgana fram éower bealubenn, Ic sácerd of se thou eufiestnys gelácne Morgana fram éower bealubenn, IC SACRED OF SE THOU EUFIESTNYS GELACNE MORGANA FRAM EOWER BEALUBENN” chanted Rose the last part became a shout.

Morgana gasped as her breathing came back to normal the colour came back to her cheeks. Rose finished the spell and fell backwards off the bed. She landed on the floor, but her head was caught before it hit the floor.
“Rose what have you done” said Merlin he sat her up against him and she shook with shivers, he took the blanket wrapped it around her cradling her in his arms.
“She’ll be healed by morning” said Rose weakly she took a breath before she passed out. 

Rose woke up in her chambers she looked around the room there was a faint smell of burning lingered in the air. She sat up to see it was light outside she was confused. She looked around to Morgana was curled up in a ball at her feet. Rose leant forward and tapped her gently on the shoulder. Morgana sat up and crawled over to Rose pulling her to her, so they were cuddled up together.
“You silly girl, you used to much magic,” said Morgana.
“I couldn’t watch you die” said Rose a few tears falling down her face, Morgana brushed it away with her fingers.
“I know, I know, don’t cry,” said Morgana.
“I need to tell you something about Uther,” said Rose.
“I know he’s my father dearest, he disowned me because he wants his son to get the throne,” said Morgana.

Rose hugged Morgana tighter.
“This is a good thing though; you have rights to the throne,” said Rose.
“That what Morgause said, I tried to kill him last night,” said Morgana.
“I am happy you didn’t kill him; all you need to do is get Arthur out the way then the thrown is yours,” said Rose. Morgana looked at Rose and smiled stroking her hair. Rose wanted Morgana as queen it was the only way magic would return, no, her destiny was to do with Gwen being queen not Morgana. Did destiny even matter anymore she was meant to be destined for good and hear she was plotting against the king. She put her head on Morgana’s shoulder and tried to control her mind.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose stood in the throne room with everyone. They were waiting for the arrival of princess Elena and her father lord Godwyn. Arthur walked into the room with Merlin walking that bit behind him and he went to the side as Arthur came to stand next to Uther.
“It’s an exciting day,” said Uther.
“The arrival of lord Godwyn is always a cause for celebration,” said Arthur.
“And his daughter Elena,” said Uther. Arthur looked less than keen when he mentioned Elena. Rose had heard of her a bit clumsy and a bit different to most princess, but she couldn’t be that bad.
“Yes” said Arthur.
“I hear she is something of a beauty,” said Uther.
“Really” said Arthur. He didn’t look bothered.
“Oh yes, beautiful, charming, witty” said Uther he looked around “strategic”.
“Strategic?” questioned Arthur and Rose together in confusion.

Uther seemed to be trying; to drop hints again but no one in Camelot ever seemed to get them.
“Yeah, lord Godwyn thinks your strategic,” said Uther.
“He finds me strategic,” said Arthur.
“And he also thinks your beautiful to” said Rose. She laughed and stepped back to stand next to Morgana like a good ward.
“Father what are you trying to say” said Arthur looking stressed and confused. Rose got distracted as lord Godwyn entered the room with his daughter who was blue, Rose stared at the women and blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t complete losing the plot. She had blue skin and she had a very strange mouth and teeth. The woman behind her was a magical creature with red skin and purples spike wearing a dress.

Her jaw dropped, no one else can see it otherwise the guards would have been called already. She laughed out loud by accident. She put her hand over her mouth. Elena then fell over, and Rose laughed again harder. She excused herself quickly and went to her favourite balcony that looked over Camelot. This place was insane they had magical creature infiltrating every other day it felt like. She heard footsteps and Merlin came to join her on the balcony he sat next to her.
“What’s so funny” asked Merlin.
“The lady Elena and her nurse are magical creatures,” said Rose.
“What?” said Merlin.
“Well, the nurse is complete red with pointy eyes and purple spike, and Elena is completely blue” said Rose.
“Oh dear,” said Merlin. She laughed again at the idea of telling Uther that the family they just invited to set a love match for Arthur was magical creature.
“MERLIN!” shouted Arthur. He stood and ran to see what Arthur wanted.

Rose followed him a minutes later and found Merlin carrying a couple of heavy bags. Arthur and Gwen walked ahead of him.
“Make sure you put them in the best guest quarters” said Arthur sounding and looking troubled which was coming out in anger.
“Everything is arranged, Princess Elena can’t fail to be impressed” said Gwen calmly.
“And Merlin it would be good if the bags arrived before they did” snapped Arthur. He looked at him incredulously and barged past him angrily. Rose approached and took two of the many bags he was carrying.
“Gwen speak to prince grumpy here, before Merlin loses all his arms” said Rose. She carried the bags with Merlin before heading back to her chambers.

The next day Rose was invited to go for a ride with Elena, Merlin and Arthur she got her horse ready and got on it. She waited for Elena and Arthur get ready but before she knew they were both off on their way. Rose and Merlin followed, she laughed in amusement.
“You don’t think he’ll marry her do you,” said Rose.
“He won’t marry her, he loves Gwen,” said Merlin.
“Any idea on what they can be” asked Rose giving him and interested look it would be nice to know what magical creature was attacking them this time.
“Gaius thinks the way described Elena she is a Sidhe well it’s called a changeling, but he doesn’t know what Grunhilda is yet,” said Merlin.
“There is no way we can let a Sidhe take the throne Gwen is destined to be once and future queen, I am going to stop this from happening,” said Rose.

They caught up with Elena and Arthur. They tied their horses to the tree and went forwards with the bags for the picnic things.
“Where did you two disappear of to?” asked Arthur.
“You were riding so fast” said Rose with a sly grin on her face.
“We thought maybe you wanted some time alone” said Merlin giving him the exact same grin on Rose’s face. It surprised Rose how she had never realised they were brother and sister sooner they had very similar mannerisms.
“No one likes a clever-clogs Merlin, Rose” said Arthur pointing at them in turn. He then pulled them closer to him “don’t you ever leave me again”. Rose giggled and nodded they set up the picnic basket and Rose served everyone drinks and food before they sat staring at the stream.
“It’s a nice area this,” said Rose.
“Yeah, it’s a lovely picnic spot,” said Merlin. Arthur looked sadly into the distance she sat herself closer to him and squeezed his arm.

Later, that day it was a feast to celebrate the arrival of their magical creature guests. Rose was wearing a blue dress that Arthur had got her for her last birthday with blue shoes. Her necklace was display she loved having it on a constant reminder of Mordred she was going to visit him soon. Rose had attempted to be sat between Lord Godwyn and Morgana, but Uther insisted Morgana sit next to Godwyn. So, ended up sitting next to the blue princess feeling the magic come off her in waves. Feeling the magic was weird and it made her feel uncomfortable it tingled under her skin.
“So, Elena, I hear you like to ride” said Morgana making conversation.
“Yeah, I am a keen horsewoman like my mother was, I don’t get to do it as much, which is a shame, Rose you like riding don’t you” said Elena bringing her into the conversation.
“I like to ride; I haven’t been riding for as long as you have,” said Rose. She looked around and saw that the nurse was sat next to Gaius and he looked uncomfortable.
“I once did a move on the horse and I went like this…” said Elena her sentence was cut short when she bought her hand back and knocked a full glass of wine on to Rose’s lap.

She jumped up in surprise the wine was cold. Elena took a napkin and rubbed it against the dress making the stain worse.
“Stop rubbing it in your making it worse” snapped Rose glaring at Elena.
“I’m sorry,” said Elena. She could feel her anger and hurt rising she loved that dress.
“Stop speaking to me. Gwen” said Rose her maid came over to her “can you take me to my chambers please”. Gwen took her hand, and they left the room. Gwen squeezed Arthur’s shoulder on the way out. They went Rose’s chambers and got Rose ready for bed she looked at the dress sadly.
“Arthur got me this, it’s ruined” said Rose in a sad voice.
“I’ll take it and see if I can get the stain out,” said Gwen. Rose didn’t understand why she was getting so upset over a dress, but she had a tear go down her face Gwen sat down on the bed next to Rose and pulled her to her, so she was being hugged close “it’s alright don’t get upset”.
“Why can’t you be queen, you wouldn’t ruin my dress,” said Rose.
“In an ideal world that would be great,” said Gwen. Rose nodded and sighed she was not going to let this magical creature become queen. 

The next day Rose sat in Gaius’s chambers reading books on Sidhe magic, they had worked out that Grunhilda was a pixie so were reading to find out how to get the fairy out of Elena. Rose had declined eating with the king saying she wanted to read, and she was still bitter about her ruined dress. It turned night-time, and Merlin and Rose went to Elena’s chambers where they heard her crying and screaming in her sleep, they both stood on a table. The pixie chucked some pixie dust on Elena and she roared in her sleep before going silent.

That made Merlin jump and they both fell backwards of the table and ran away from the room, but she had a feeling that Grunhilda had them. They ran to Gaius’s chambers.
“Rose, Gaius, you were right Poor girl, no wonder she's got a wind problem. You should see what she's got trapped inside her. We have to tell the King,” said Merlin.
“Merlin that isn’t a good idea, Uther will have you strung up,” said Rose.
“She is right, Lord Godwyn is one of Uther's dearest friends. Accusing him of having a Sidhe for a daughter and a pixie for a nurse is not something that can be undertaken lightly” said Gaius with an amused smile.
“But he wants Arthur to marry her,” said Merlin.
“We keep reading there are three of us now so hopefully we’ll find something,” said Rose. She gave Merlin one of the books. They read for a long time before Rose fell asleep with her head in the book.

There was a knock Gaius’s door the morning which woke her up the next morning and a guard came in.
“Rose, Arthur requests your presence in his chambers,” said the guard. Rose stood up and brushed herself down curious about what he wanted. She then went to his chambers to finding to stood staring out his window. He was facing away from her.
“You wanted to see me,” said Rose.
“Yes, can you sit with me for a bit,” said Arthur. She nodded feeling touched at the gesture she sat down at the table.
“Off course how are you” asked Rose.
“I am stressed, my dad is forcing me to marry Elena and I don’t love her” said Arthur.
“I think it’s madness you should marry for love and you love Gwen” said Rose. Arthur stared at her opening and closing his mouth in shock. There was a knock at the door and Arthur went to answer it. “Guinevere” said Arthur in shock “we were just talking about you”.
“I am sorry I know I shouldn’t turn up like this” said Gwen sadly.

Arthur let her in and went to stand by the window.
“Do you want me to leave?” asked Rose unsure of whether they would want some privacy she could see that both were upset.
“No stay” said Gwen and Arthur together.
“Everyone’s talking about your marriage to Elena, I know you said it isn’t what you wanted, but I also know that you can’t always get what you want, I know that very much” said Gwen she chocked up at the end of her sentence and looked down as tears shone in her eyes.

Rose could see that Arthur was equally chocked up as well she could help them. She also was starting to wish that they let her leave when she asked. She just stood there awkwardly waiting for it to be over.
“Is what I want really that insane?” asked Arthur sadly.
 “Yes, it is Arthur, from anyone’s perspective, apart from yours, and mine, oh Rose seems to like the idea of us, it’s completely insane,” said Gwen. Arthur laughed through the tears that seemed to be forming in his eyes and the heaviness in his voice.
“Then I am happy being insane” said Arthur.
“I’m sure it’s better than being miserable” said Rose.
“I don’t believe Elena will make him miserable, she has a good heart” said Gwen.
“So, do you” said Arthur.
“And you wouldn’t ruin my favourite dress” said Rose. All three of them laughed at that finding it funny, even if Gwen did accidentally knock wine on it, she wouldn’t try rubbing at it.
“All three of us know it can’t be, even no matter how much we want it to be” said Gwen.
“No, it can work, this is crazy, you two are perfect for each other” said Rose.
“What will you do if I marry her” asked Arthur.
“I will watch you become the king that Camelot deserves” said Gwen. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Gwen ran crying from the room. She looked at Arthur to see him start to cry as well, she wasn’t sure whether to leave and leave him to cry or stay. He answered her unanswered question by pulling her to him and crying into her shoulder. She hugged back tighter before he asked her to leave him to get changed.

Rose went for a walk this time she wanted to clear her head, she was thinking what she could do to reveal the blue magical creature and her nurse, she then remembered a spell Merlin and herself had attempted to use it when a troll arrived in the castle, there were other spells as well. Everyone was summoned to the council chamber sometime later and Rose stood to the back and behind a pillar.
“Hierste thaet cicen sona” whispered Rose under her breath nothing happened to either of the magical creatures and Arthur carried on his speech “bemelde úre rihtcynn sylfum” with that spell the pixie skin started to bubble under the skin.

The changeling stayed normal but the blue part of her seemed to get bluer “líesing se dúnelfen fram þes cynescipe”. Nothing happened and the court was dismissed much to Rose’s annoyance. She followed Merlin and Gaius to their chambers and sat down.
“So, my spells didn’t work” said Rose. Merlin swatted her around the head gently.
“Grunhilda saw you! Right I am going to go find this rare flower, Rose you stay in here with Gaius” said Merlin. He then left the room leaving Rose with Gaius. They looked at each other and started laughing to themselves.
“He can talk how many times has he done magic in front of people” said Rose.
“Don’t worry about that, help with this” said Gaius.

She read the potion that Gaius had to do and they both made the potion together soon the last thing they needed was the plant that was needed to be not found. They waited for ages until finally Merlin came through the door with a flower covered in mud Rose laughed.
“I got it!” said Merlin excitedly holing it up as a trophy for his hard work.
“Grown in boggy and marshy terrain,” said Gaius.
“Yes, from the looks of it in the middle of it all” joked Rose pointing to Merlin’s muddiness, she laughed and smiled as he gave them the flower.
“Will it hurt her when the fairy leaves her?” asked Merlin.
“No, she’ll feel a new person,” said Gaius. Rose nodded at this and sat and thought about it, Elena didn’t love Arthur either maybe if she spoke to Elena after the Sidhe was out of her and Merlin spoke to Arthur they might not get married. Rose went up to Merlin’s chamber to do some more reading with Merlin to give Gaius space to work. They laid side by side on the bed together she leant her head on his shoulder and nodded off. She awoke with the sound of a crash that echoed around the room. She looked around to see Merlin was facing against the Sidhe elder his target was both as he sent blasts at both. He held his staff and distracted the Sidhe from Rose.
“Get down!” said Merlin. Rose knowing, she was no match against the Sidhe elder rolled of the bed and went under the bed.

Soon the chamber went silent, and Rose looked out from under the bed to see Merlin and Gaius were looking at the broken bottle which held the potions. She sighed and sat back down at the table beginning to start the potion again with Gaius. At dawn they managed to get the potion finished.
“That’s it” said Gaius happily.
“Thank the gods” said Rose. She then wished them luck and went to her chamber to get ready for the wedding. She got to her room to see that Morgana was dressed already in a pretty purple and cream dress, Gwen turned to look at her.
“Arthur got you this” said Gwen. She lifted a blue dress, so it was full length, it was different to the other dress, but it was still pretty. Gwen helped her into the dress, and it looked good on her “he knew how upset you were about the other dress”. She was touched by Arthur’s gesture and smiled before having a pang of guilt which didn’t last long but was replaced with a burning need to stay loyal to Morgana. It was getting stronger every time she would feel guilt she would immediately stop and having a feeling of loyalty.

After Gwen got her ready, she then went to Elena’s chambers to see how things were going. Rose entered the room to see a lady standing in front of her. She looked to Merlin and Gaius and gave them a smile.
“Where is Grunhilda?” asked Elena.
“We’ll look into it” said Gaius and Merlin.
“I’ll get you ready, come on you two out” said Rose kicking out both the men from the room, she grabbed Merlin’s arm in doorway and was about to start her new idea “speak to Arthur about the wedding and I’ll speak to her hopefully we can both make them see sense”. Before squeezing his hand and letting him go. Elena already looked so much better without a Sidhe. She got her in a white dress and did her hair nicely.
“Sorry about your dress” said Elena.
“It’s alright, I got a new one, the dress had a special meaning to it, I promise I don’t usually get so angry about a dress” said Rose. Elena nodded and smiled at her.
“I understand completely what you mean, I don’t love him, but I have to marry him, what do you think” said Elena giving Rose a desperate look, she moved around the table and stood in front of her looked her in the eye.
“I believe you should marry for love not for duty, you are a strong woman who could rule on your own right as queen of your country, you have a choice you can choose marriage or choose freedom” said Rose. Elena nodded and gave her a thankful smile.
“Thank you” said Elena.

Rose smiled and hugged her before leaving the room to go to the wedding she went and stood with Gwen. She took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Arthur came in to stand at the alter looking like he would rather have the world cave in on him than be in that very room he locked eyes with Rose, and she smiled at him which she hoped was encouraging. Music started and Elena walked down the aisle with Lord Godwyn. Arthur got paler and looked ready for the floor to suck him up. Sir Geoffrey started the ceremony and Rose could feel Gwen’s hand tighten in her hand. “Wait” said Arthur.
“Do you want to say something Arthur” asked Geoffrey.
“Something I should've said a long time ago. Something from the heart I dare not speak. Elena, you are a wonderful woman, and a beautiful bride, but I cannot deny my feelings” said Arthur.
“You don’t love me” said Elena simply. Rose saw her look at her with a smile.
“No, but you don’t love me either if your honest” said Arthur. Rose wanted to jump up and down in excitement. She grinned as Arthur looked at Gwen briefly.
“No, I do not” said Elena. 
“Then we are both here out of duty. Can you forgive me?” said Arthur. Elena nodded and smiled she also looked like a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“I agree with everything you have said, thank you” said Elena. Arthur nodded before leaving the room on his way out he squeezed Rose’s shoulder, Uther stormed after him.

Rose looked at Morgana who looked angry, she took her hand and took her their chambers. Rose sat down at the table and Morgana paced looking agitated. 
“This was meant to break his spirit” said Morgana angrily.
“Yes, but the wedding needed to be stopped the Sidhe would have ruled over us all, but they are an untrustworthy people, at least now we can find a new way without having a crazy blue creature for a queen” said Rose.
“This is taking too long” said Morgana.
“It’s fine we can go talk to Morgause, it’s alright come and sit down we can work something out” said Rose. Morgana smiled at Rose and sat down at the table opposite her.
“We have some new information that may help us” said Morgana.
“What’s that?” asked Rose.
“Arthur has feelings for Gwen, and he cares about you a great deal, this could be in our favour” said Morgana. Rose smiled but on the inside her stomach dropped off course she found out about that. Her thoughts went to what Kilghara said she was link between the dark and the light to stop bad things from happening to the once and future queen. That time seemed to be upon them.

The end.

Chapter Text

It had been a month since Arthur nearly married a Sidhe and Morgana, Morgause and Rose had been planning something. Rose stood with both women in the woods.
“Cenred’s men will take her tomorrow night” said Morgause. Rose stiffened at the thought of Cenred going near anyone. Morgana took her hand and squeezed it.
“I think we should also add a second incentive,” said Morgana. Well technically this was Rose’s idea because she wanted to be able to protect Gwen and keep her safe.  She was surprised that Morgana liked the idea.
“What?” said Morgause giving Morgana a look of confusion.
“They should take Rose as well; Arthur treats her like she’s his own and has developed a bond with her,” said Morgana. Rose nodded, it was an excuse to go and keep Gwen safe from Cenred and make sure nothing happens to her.

She hated the idea though as being bait for Arthur she was more than that. Guilt was non-existent and that was driving her mad was she becoming evil if she wasn’t feeling guilt.
“Yes, I like you’re thinking, we send Gwen back to Camelot to get Arthur to rescue her brother and Rose” said Morgause.
“Also, Merlin will badger Arthur until she was rescued, even go off on his own,” said Morgana. Rose looked at her she was being used as bait for two people now she had never been so popular.
“Will you be there? It’s just Cenred doesn’t like me too much,” said Rose.
“Yes, I will be there and Cenred knows better than to defy me, the men will have to keep appearances, but they won’t harm you” said Morgause. She smiled and Morgause took her other hand “with Arthur out the way the only one left to take the throne”. They all smiled at each other ready for the next day.

Rose was delivering some medicine to the lower town for Gaius it was night, and she was finished on her way back to the castle when she saw Gwen on her way home. She approached her and started to walk with her to Gwen’s house.
“Oh, hello Rose, you finished your rounds for Gaius?” asked Gwen.
“Yeah, let me walk you home,” said Rose. They walked to the Gwen’s house and went in, Gwen took her cloak of and laid it on the bed.

Rose sensed then that were not alone, Cenred’s men were upon them. She acted her part by taking her sword out of the holder around her belt.
“Rose what is it?” said Gwen. Her question was answered when a man came in front of them, she picked up the poker from the fireplace. Two of them came up behind them and drugged Gwen with a cloth, she passed out, got tied up and put on a horse.
“You’re not putting the stuff over my face, carry me out if you must but you are not knocking me unconscious,” said Rose. She shut her eyes, she was tied up and was carried to a horse. She was laid across a horse and they were taken out of Camelot.

The journey was a long one and they arrived at a castle in the afternoon of the next day, she was happy to be finally off horse she got pulled off it and Rose and Gwen were then led to a room they both struggled. They got forced on to their knees in front of Cenred. Rose flinched and immediately put herself in front of Gwen protectively.
“Guinevere, Rose” said Cenred. He got up and walked forward towards them they both shrunk back Gwen was panting as he cut the rope the tied their hands together “I trust you both had a pleasant journey” he looked between both of them before starting to straighten up.
“Who are you and why have you bought us to this place,” said Gwen.
“For you Guinevere I have a guest I thought you might like to meet him” said Cenred. He then bent down to face Rose, so they were face to face “and this one I hadn’t seen her in a while, I missed her face”. Rose glared at him.

Two soldiers bought in a man who had his face covered and forced him to his knees. The face covering was removed making Gwen gasp and hug him, they said each other’s name in shock. “Brother and sister reunited it warms the heart”. Rose couldn’t stand this she hated Cenred standing over her, but she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
“What do you want from us” said Elyan holding his sister close to him.
“All in good time, you two bring her, let’s leave them alone” said Cenred. The guards moved towards Rose, but Elyan attempted to defend her, but the guards just ignored him and pulled her to her feet, and she was walked from the room. Cenred lead her to Morgause who was up the stairs she had been watching the whole situation from above through a window this put Rose at ease. Morgause wrapped her arm around Rose as they stood and watched Gwen and Elyan talk.
“You’re a cruel man, Cenred” said Morgause with a smile on her face.
“Is it cruel to give them a moment alone, they have to discuss” said Cenred.
“Indeed” said Morgause excitedly.
“Besides the more she feels for her brother’s plight and worried about Rose, the more she’ll do for us” said Cenred. Rose smiled and looked up at Cenred he was completely bonkers, but he had a charm about him she had never noticed before.

Rose was led to a room with a nice bed and desk. She looked out the window to see the sea and the sun was in the horizon, the view was pretty, but it also gave elusion she was in the middle of nowhere which she didn’t like. Morgause came and stood with her.
“That is a lovely view, where are we?” asked Rose.
“We are at the castle of Fyrien, don’t worry, you are safe” said Morgause. Rose nodded she was feeling safer than she did before Morgause had that effect on her always making her feel safe.
“I know, so is the plan still to send Gwen to get help” asked Rose.
“Yes, we believe that she’s more likely to ask for help if your involved also we are going to let her think your being tortured for information” said Morgause Rose listened to her and nodded.
“I will play my part,” said Rose. They stood staring at the sea a bit longer before Cenred knocked on the door.
“It’s time to send Gwen on her merry way” said Cenred.

They all left the room and went back to the room with the throne in it. Before Rose entered the room, she ruffled her hair to make it look crazier and put on her scared expression. She was then marched back into the room, Rose hugged Gwen and Gwen held her to her protectively. Cenred gave them a drink which they both drank quickly. A bit of water came out of Gwen’s mouth she put her hands to them to wipe the water away. Cenred stroked Gwen’s face with his two fingers she jumped back.
“What have you done with Elyan” demanded Gwen.
“He’s safe for now” said Cenred.
“How do I know that” asked Gwen tearfully, Rose wrapped her arm around again hoping to give her the comfort she needed.
“We can talk about your brother later” said Cenred. He circled them “I want to talk about you, both of you, what you can do for me”. He stood next to the closely staring at them intensely.
“What could we possible do for you” asked Gwen.
“You Gwen can bring me Arthur Pendragon” said Cenred.
“She is a servant; she has no influence on a prince” said Rose defensively.
“I think all three of us know that’s not true” said Cenred.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Gwen.

Rose could sense that Cenred was getting angry, so she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She reminded herself the reason she was there and going along with this plot, she was here to protect Gwen.
“ENOUGH!” shouted Cenred he chucked both cups across the room he turned to Rose and pulled her off Gwen and had his guards stand her further away “you will bring him here, I don’t care how you do it, all I care is that is done, you have a week”.

Rose attempted to get Gwen again, but the men held her on the spot.
“And if we do not,” said Gwen. Cenred laughed in her face and went over to Rose.
“We, sorry you’re going back to Camelot alone, I need to be sure that you come back for your brother with Arthur, Rose stays here, if you are not back within the week I’ll make you watch while I tear your brother’s heart out, the same fate will fall Rose only I have information about Camelot to get out of her first” said Cenred he stood in front of Rose.
“No, I’ll bring Arthur” said Gwen desperately.
“I will tell you nothing,” said Rose.
“I have my methods” said Cenred. He got his guards to take Rose from the room and he followed behind. Once they were out the door and the door were shut the guards let go off her and she went to where Morgause was.

Later, that day Rose found herself sat in a dining room with Cenred and Morgause. They were eating in silence for a while until Cenred looked at Rose with interest.
“It’s hard to imagine you’re the eight-year-old that I arrested, you have grown a lot” said Cenred.
“Yeah, it’s odd, I only came to ask some questions, my father went into battle and the next minute he’s been killed, I wanted to know more information, back then my magic wasn’t under control so everything would trigger it,” said Rose.
“Your father was one of my finest knights and in the end, he was one of my friends, while in the battle with Carleon I dropped my sword and knew I was close to being stabbed but your father Sir Derick got in the way took the stab it got his stomach, we attempted to get him to safety, but he died instantly and, in my arms,” said Cenred.

Rose listened to the story with a shocked expression on her face, the man that had bought her up died saving his king.
“Thank you, that is all I wanted to know,” said Rose. Morgause took her hand and squeezed it and she squeezed back. They sat talking for a while about armies and knights before Rose retired to bed, she got into a night dress that was in the wardrobe and noticed a bruise on her stomach from the ribs to her hips she touched it and winced. She laid in bed and didn’t feel bad she didn’t want Gwen to get harmed and she knew Cenred could have hurt her somehow.

Rose spent the next two days wondering around the castle she would avoid Elyan’s cell, she let her hair become messy. On the third day of her in the castle Morgause came into the throne room.
“The rescue party will be here soon” said Morgause.
“Who is in this rescue party?” asked Rose.
“It’s Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and Morgana” said Morgause.
“She looks too unharmed; they aren’t going to believe I’ve torturing her” said Cenred looking at Rose, she looked at him and nodded he had a point.
“There is more than one way of torture, she is covered in bruises anyway from knocking into stuff, plus she has a bruise on her stomach from being over the horse” said Morgause.

Rose nodded and felt a love for Morgause she didn’t want to harm her in anyway. She did a have some bruises on her arms and like Morgause said she had a bruise on her stomach from being over a horse for too long it hurt slightly still but the older high priestess had looked at it and made sure she wasn’t bleeding internally. Rose walked towards the throne and sat on it on her way down she bumped her arm on the chair. Morgause pointed at that which proved her point, they sat a bit longer until Rose felt a powerful magic.
“They are here, Cenred send your men to the tunnels under the castle, Rose come with me” said Morgause.

Cenred gave his guards orders, Morgause and Rose left the room and stood at her perch over the room. There were scuffling footsteps come into the room below and all four of her rescue party were forced on to their knees in front of Cenred. The line went Arthur, Gwen, Merlin and Morgana.
“Well, well Arthur Pendragon” said Cenred he got up and stood in front of Arthur “How kind of you to pay me a visit, and look you bought some friends with you” he walked down the line and stopped at Morgana he looked at her squatting in front of her “Oh the lady Morgana no less”.
“Don’t so much as breath on me you pig, where is my ward!” demanded Morgana Cenred looked up at the Morgause’s window showing her both Morgause and Rose stood there before getting up again.
“Well, the more the merrier I say” said Cenred.
“I’m the one you want Cenred let them go, if you have laid a hand on Rose” said Arthur angrily. Morgause looked at Rose with a smile.
“Go to the cell you know Arthur and Merlin will be in and lay there and look weak, then Cenred will come to get you” said Morgause. Rose nodded and smiled before kissing her cheek and leaving. She went to the cell that they going to be in and laid down on the floor. She looked the door and with the key from the outside with her magic.

She didn’t have to wait for long until the cell door was opened, and Merlin and Arthur were chucked inside. Merlin was at her side in shot, he touched her shoulder and she flinched.
“Rose, it’s me,” said Merlin. Rose looked at him and sat up. She gave him a hug and then she felt herself be pulled from Merlin and was then hugged by Arthur.
“I am sorry they took you” said Arthur into the top of the head. She looked into his eyes and saw the guilt and worry in them. Her emotions were about be of guilt or shame, but it was changed. Why did her mind keep doing that? The cell door opened and Cenred came in with two of his knights.
“Hold the prince and the manservant” said Cenred. The knights grabbed both men and held them to the spot while Cenred stood up Rose and walked her from the room.
“Let her go, take me” said Arthur desperately.

The door banged behind them and she led back to the throne room. Morgana was already in there with Morgause. Rose ran over and hugged Morgana.
“Hello you” said Morgana.
“Hello, are you alright? Did I miss much?” asked Rose.
“I am alright, you should have seen Merlin and Arthur when they realised you were being kept here” said Morgana. Rose sat herself down on the throne. Morgause and Morgana spoke amongst themselves until the warning bell sounded making her jump.
“Arthur” said Cenred.
“You should have killed them when you had the chance” said morgana angrily.
“He won’t get far; my men will deal with him easily enough” said Cenred.
“If he escapes,” said Morgana Agitatedly.

Rose got up and wrapped her arm around Morgana’s waist. They weren’t going to go all this way to rescue her and then leave her. That would complete negate the point of a rescue party.
“Do not fret you are both family to the prince, also the servant will be in a hurry to get Rose, when he comes, we’ll be ready” said Morgause reassuringly.
“Yeah he wouldn’t come all this way to just leave us here,” said Rose. Cenred got his swords from behind his back looking at them with a smile on his face.
“And then, my ladies you must act your part” said Cenred.
“When have we not?” said Morgana.

Cenred took his swords and held one up to Rose’s neck the other one pointed towards the door, and he got a guard to hold Morgana back. After a bit of clanging the door burst open and Arthur stared.
“Don’t hurt her” said Morgana playing her part well struggling against the guards holding her back. Arthur started to circle around them.
“Close enough, one more step and she dies” said Cenred.
“You’re a coward Cenred, always were” said Arthur he attempted to go around but Cenred kept the sword pointed at him.
“It’s cowards who survive Arthur” said Cenred he pushed the knife, so it was closer to her neck which made Morgana gasp and Rose wince “drop your sword”.
“Do as he say’s” said Morgause.

Arthur stared at Morgause in surprise and horror he looked to Rose and Morgana with concern before looking back the witch “you seemed surprised”. Arthur straightened his sword.
“I know what you’re capable of” said Arthur.
“Oh, you have no idea” said Morgause. She cast a spell and a wall of fire came up between the group of people. Arthur stared at in confusion unsure of what to do. As the fire went closer to Arthur Cenred let go of her and the men let go of Morgana.

Bang the fire disappeared, and everyone was blasted back by the force of it. Arthur was the first one to get up, Morgana sat up Arthur ran over to her and helped her stand. Rose sat up as well and looked around with confusion. She had a part of the ceiling land on her, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, but she ignored it.

Merlin came running in and he ran over to Rose, he got the stuff of her and helped her stand. She hugged him and stumbled slightly her ankle hurt when she put weight on it.
“What the hell are you doing here” demanded Arthur.
“I came for Rose,” said Merlin. Pointing to Rose who was hugged to him using him for support.
“Well don’t just stand there with her get her out of here,” said Arthur. Merlin scooped her up before running out the door, the sensation was weird, so she shut her eyes against the blur of him running. Morgana ran after them quickly.

They got to the tunnels, but Morgana stopped and grabbed Merlin’s arm. This nearly caused Merlin to drop her she clung tighter to him.
“I can’t go on, let me check on her” said Morgana desperately, Rose opened her eyes. Morgana attempted to pull Rose into her arms, but Merlin kept a strong hold.
“I’m fine honestly we should keep going,” said Rose.
“What’s the matter? Worried about your friends” demanded Merlin sounding angry at Morgana. Rose rolled her eyes.
“My ankle,” said Morgana. Arthur came running alongside them. He picked up Morgana himself and they all ran from the tunnels.

They got outside and Rose was so happy to feel the air on her face again. Merlin and Arthur put down their ladies before a fight broke out as men followed them outside. Morgana pulled her out of the way as Elyan and Arthur finished them off. A stabbing pain in her stomach made her wince. She looked down for the first time since the ceiling fell on her. A red patch was seeping through her dress.
“Merlin, by any chance did you bring bandages” said Rose he turned around to look at her and for the first time seemed to notice what she had noticed he gave her shocked expression. Rose fell backwards as she passed out.

Coming around felt amazing she could smell herbs and spices and she was in a soft bed covered in blankets. Rose opened her eyes to see Kara’s green eyes inches away from face. She jumped back slightly before sitting up and pulling the girl into her arms. Kara hugged back before getting up. She went to the hut door and left.

Rose stared after her before looking around she was Mordred’s house. The door opened again Mordred, Hunnith and Kara came in. They all came over and gave her a hug one by one. The last one was Mordred he sat down next to her and kept his arm around her.
“Did Arthur or Merlin see you?” asked Rose.
“No, they didn’t Morgana dropped you off,” said Mordred. She looked down to see her torso was wrapped up with a bandage. She leant her head on Mordred’s shoulder and Kara crawled on to her lap. She wrapped her arm around Kara and kissed her on top of the head. She was happy to be with her small family.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose woke up the next day tangled up with Mordred, she loved this and would do anything to wake up every morning like this. She got up and sorted out some breakfast while Mordred and Kara snored. She looked at the with a fond look before setting up the table. As she served up Mordred woke up and sat at the table.
“I could get used to this,” said Mordred.
“How is she doing?” asked Rose looking over to the sleeping form off Kara she looked troubled even in her sleep.
“She’s been a bit down the last week or so, seeing you seemed to cheer her up though” said Mordred, she finished the breakfast before waking up Kara.

The girl woke up and sat down at the table. She served up the food before sitting down herself next to Mordred.
“So, what are everyone’s plans for today?” asked Rose.
“I have a few potions to make then I need to check on one of the elders,” said Mordred. Rose nodded and looked Kara.
“Fancy going for a walk with me, Kara?” asked Rose. Kara nodded excitedly. After breakfast Mordred got ready and then went about his job. Kara and Rose got ready and left the house. They walked around the village before heading off into the woods.

Rose sat down on one of her favourite logs it had always been there, and it overlooked the village so she could watch people. Kara sat down next to her.
“Mordred’s been telling me you have been a bit down, how come?” asked Rose. Kara gave her a small smile.
“It would have been my one of my brother’s birthdays last week, reminded me of that day” said Kara. Rose looked at her and wrapped her arm around her. Kara lost her family in one of Camelot’s raids and had come running into Ealdor with the help of Gwaine.
“How old would he have been?” asked Rose.

Kara looked sadly into the empty space in front of her, she leant her head on to Rose’s shoulders “you can talk to me”.
“Jackson would have been 13 he saved my life, I had two brothers, I miss them every day; they didn’t deserve to die like that” said Kara. She looked upset and like she wanted to talk about the druid camp but nervous about it at the same time.
“You can talk about that day with the druid’s camp, it might make you feel better, if you keep inside it’s going to cause you to be more upset later on” said Rose. She gave her an encouraging smile “You don’t have to worry about upsetting me”.

“I had two brothers Jackson was 12 and Eli was 7 we lived with our parents in a druid camp near the border between Cenred’s and Camelot’s border, they came early morning we weren’t prepared” said Kara she took a breath and sat up so she was facing Rose. “They came and attacked us the knights drowned the children and the others were rounded up and taken back to Camelot, Jackson ran in one direction so I could run in the other, I ran but tripped on a tree route that’s when I broke my ankle, I carried on running because the knights were chasing me, that man saved me, he got between me and the knights, that’s how I ended up in Ealdor”.

Kara got up sat herself on Rose’s lap buried her head into her shoulder and started to cry. Rose held her to her in a strong embrace holding her through the wracking sobs.
“Shush, your safe, I’ll never let anything happen to you” said Rose soothingly into the child’s ear. After a while Kara calmed herself down and they sat with her still on Rose’s lap.
“I feel sometimes Morgana has the right idea” said Kara. Rose nodded.
“She does at times but sometimes her anger does run away with her sometimes” said Rose. They sat quietly a bit longer before Rose decided it was time for something to eat and drink.

Over the next few weeks Rose was enjoying the company of Mordred and Kara but the last night of her stay she finished of some chores before entering Mordred’s house. The place was decorated with candles and flowers. Mordred was laying the table as she came in.
“Come sit” said Mordred he took her hand and pulled the chair out for her to sit in she sat down, and he sat down opposite her.
“This looks lovely, what’s it for” said Rose it was vegetables and meat it smelt nice.
“You cheered up Kara and you leave tomorrow; I don’t know next time I’ll see you” said Mordred.

She started to eat loving how much Mordred was always there showing her love and respect. After they finished eating Mordred took Rose over to some blankets and cushions on the floor. They sat down and Mordred leant against the cushion and pulled Rose to him, so she was leant against him her head on his shoulder. She laid quietly listening to his beat.
“I love you” said Rose. Mordred picked up her hand and held it. She felt a rush of happiness as he held her.
“I love you to” said Mordred.
“Once magic is back to Camelot, I will make sure you are allowed in Camelot,” said Rose.

Mordred started to play with the healing bracelet on her arm, he frowned for a second, he attempted to remove it and moved his hand away from the bracelet like it burnt him.
“Rose, you been okay recently, no conflicting feelings or thoughts anything like that” asked Mordred he looked at her awkwardly. Rose stared at him with shock, how did he know?
“I have moments of having strong emotions guilt or shame but then it’ll change to feelings of loyalty to Morgana or the old religion, I feel like I am losing my mind, or I have become evil, if I can’t feel shame or guilt to planning to go against the crown then maybe I am becoming evil,” said Rose.
“Like what? Rose you’re not evil” asked Mordred. 
“With Morgana and Morgause’s plot the idea is to kill everyone and I don’t want that but sometimes I do, I was angry at Uther well I still have anger for Uther, it’s all his fault my life was lie growing up, I don’t want to see Arthur and Merlin get hurt,” said Rose.

Her mind was battling a feeling of guilt and a feeling of loyalty. She wanted them all dead, no she didn’t want them all dead. Merlin was her kin she couldn’t destroy him. She clutched her head as it pounded with information.
“Sit up and close your eyes” said Mordred urgently. He moved out from underneath Rose and knelt in front of her. She sat and shut her eyes. He picked up her necklace with one hand and held it and put a hand on Rose’s shoulder.
“bebierge þes gerd frōwe fram galdorcræftiga” chanted Mordred his eyes flashed gold and Rose’s head started to calm down and the pain went away.

Mordred laid them both down and wrapped an arm around her. She fell asleep her mind feeling stronger. The next morning Rose woke up feeling ten times better than she had done in a while. Mordred gave her a drink of water.
“Who gave you the healing bracelet,” said Mordred.
“I don’t know actually, one day I just had it,” said Rose. He stared at her in surprise and then looked at the healing bracelet with an angry look. Rose got herself packed up before getting her horse. Mordred and Kara watched her get her horse sorted, they had decided they weren’t going to join her this time to the border this time as Mordred and Kara had plans.

Rose journey to Camelot was easy and she made it back at nightfall. She noticed as soon as she got off her horse there was a certain atmosphere in the air of Camelot. She got into the main courtyard to see that Merlin was sat on the steps looking sombre. Rose ran over to him and sat down on the stair next to him.
“Hey what’s up” asked Rose. Taking hold of his arm.
“Gaius has a lady that he used to be engaged to called Alice, he has moved her in and it looks like she is evil she has a dark creature call an manticore in her box but Gaius doesn’t believe me, he thinks I am crazy” said Merlin.

Rose squeezed his arm and was about to say something, but the warning bell sounded so Rose and Merlin got up and ran into the castle. They ran to Uther’s chambers and went in to find Uther was ill looking on the floor. Rose and Merlin knelt next to Gaius. Uther’s eyes opened but they were black all three of them jumped backwards in shock.
“What is that?” said Merlin.
“Dark magic” said Rose in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
“Hush Merlin, Rose” said Gaius.

He moved his head to the side and shut his eyes again. Rose helped Merlin put Uther on to the bed while Gaius sniffed at the potion bottle that was in his hand. Once Uther looked comfortable, they went into the corridor to see Arthur was speaking to a few knights.
“Well” said Arthur. He looked at Rose with confusion, then relief at her being there.
“I am yet to determine the cause of your father’s illness,” said Gaius.
“He’s been poisoned hasn’t he,” said Arthur.
“I cannot say at this stage,” said Gaius. Rose saw that Arthur was increasingly getting angry and upset. “Just look at him, Gaius, what else could it be?” demanded Arthur.
“We can’t say for certain, please watch over him sire till I return,” said Gaius.

Arthur went into the king’s chambers on his way past Rose he took her hand and took her with him. She was waiting for it happen, so it didn’t shock her, and she let him lead her into the room with the black-eyed king. Arthur sat down at Uther’s bedside and Rose sat down on a chair next to him. Merlin came in after them sometime later.
“It doesn’t make any sense, his food and wine are tasted before every meal, it’s bought here under armed guard” said Arthur.
“So, no one can interfere with it any way” said Rose feeling equally as confused she got up and leant over Uther and pealed back his eye lid his eyes were still as black as night “this isn’t a normal poison look”.

Arthur looked and recoiled back.
“It can’t be his food and drink then, the only other thing he’s had is Gaius’s potions, what would cause black eyes though” said Arthur. Rose looked to Merlin desperate for him to come up with an idea there was no way Gaius was going to poison Uther.
“Arthur, I think I know what happened, Gaius has been getting help by a lady named Alice, it must be her” said Merlin. Arthur sent for the guard to help him arrest Alice and Merlin left the room. Rose put her hand on the prince’s shoulder comfortingly. He pulled her into a hug.
“I am so glad you are here,” said Arthur.
“I have come back to madness,” said Rose.

The guards had arrived at the door and Arthur got up out his chair.
“Stay with the king” said Arthur before leaving the room. She only been back in Camelot less than hour and the king was dying, Gaius had a girlfriend and Merlin and Gaius had fallen out. She made it a note to not leave or enter Camelot on a full moon because they had all lost their minds. She sat next to the king she picked up his hand it was cold. She felt Uther’s pulse on his wrist it was slow and at times would stop.

Gaius came in and joined her. He did some checks on him before standing there staring at him. Merlin came in and stood at the foot of the bed, he looked anxiously at Gaius.
“How is” asked Merlin.
“He’s fading,” said Rose.
“He won’t last the day,” said Gaius. Rose wasn’t used to Merlin and Gaius not speaking properly she wanted to bang their heads together and get them to snap out of it.
“Gaius” said Merlin, but Gaius interrupted him.
“It’s alright Merlin, you were trying to save me from harm, thank you” said Gaius. The tension decreased slightly between the two men in the room “I don’t believe Alice wanted this”.
“I know she didn’t, the poison is from the manticore, the creature that was in Alice’s room” said Merlin.

Gaius moved towards the door and Merlin followed him.
“Rose stay with king” said Gaius. They left the room leaving Rose alone with Uther. She picked up his hand again and held it.
“You are going to be alright” said Rose to Uther. She felt his head and it felt hot. She went across to a water bucket that had been bought and picked up a cloth dipped it into the water and dabbed it on his face.

Soon his fever stopped, and he seemed to improve, he groaned and touched his head “Uther”. Merlin and Gaius ran in and then they were followed by Arthur. Uther opened his eyes and sat up. Rose gave him a brief run down over what happened then she hugged him without thinking.

The king stiffened for a minute before hugging her back and tapping her head. She sat back on the chair and let Gaius get to work.
“It’s a good thing indeed that you found antidote Gaius” said Uther. He drank from a goblet as everyone stood or sat around his bed.
“It will take time my lord, but you will make a full recovery” said Gaius.
“What of the woman” said Uther.
“She’s in the cells awaiting judgement” said Arthur folding his arms looking tired.
“She won’t have to wait long; she’s sentenced to death” said Uther. Rose felt like her heart dropped into her stomach, he was never going to change he was always going to hate magic.

He hadn’t even found out what happened. She sighed but she had cared for him when he was dying. She was a broken traitor she decided “we’ll execute her in the morning”.
“Yes father” said Arthur. He looked across to Rose “if you’ll come with me that would be great”. She nodded and got up went over to him and they both left the room together.

Rose watched as Arthur arranged stuff for the morning before he walked her to her chambers. She went inside and waited for Arthur’s footsteps to disappear before leaving her chambers again. Before she even got around the corner Arthur was on his way around the corner.
“Right with me now!” said Arthur in an annoyed voice. He took her hand and took her to her room he was looking amused and annoyed “get your night dress, you coming to my chambers”.

Rose gave him a look, but he then gave her a look that told her not to argue.
“This is unnecessary” said Rose she got her stuff together before Arthur escorted her to his chambers she went behind the screen and changed into her nightdress before coming around it, Arthur sat at his table looking stern “this is still unnecessary”.
“No, it’s not, you’re trying to break out the prisoner, I saw your face when father sentenced her to death” said Arthur.
“When Gaius was a goblin, he didn’t get executed” said Rose.
“No, but goblin Gaius didn’t nearly kill anyone” said Arthur.

Rose looked around the room it’s not like she had anywhere to sleep.
“Where am I meant to sleep then, clever clogs” snapped Rose.
“I do own a bed” said Arthur.
“Yeah one!” retorted Rose. She shivered slightly as the cool air in the room hit her skin.
“I’ll deal with that hurdle when it comes to it, now get into the bed” said Arthur. She sat down on Arthur’s bed and got herself under the covers feeling cold. Arthur came over and tucked her in a bit more so she practically tied to the bed “I am glad you came back when you did”. Rose smiled before falling asleep.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose and Morgana had been having the same dream night after night. It would always start with the same thing. This night was no different she was asleep and dreamed it again only this time there was difference. The throne room was full of people in rows there was music playing. Arthur stood at the front of the room wearing the kings crown and his knights wear with the red cloak, Rose was on his left-hand side looking a bit older wearing a red dress with the knight’s cloak and a crown on her head it looked like the crown that Arthur used to wear when he was made crowned prince.

Gwen entered the room from the back in a purple dress people bowed as she walked past them all. Once Gwen got to the front of the room she knelt on to the floor in front of Arthur. He put his hand out for a crown as she looked at him with love and happiness. He picked up the crown from the pillow and put it, so it was over Gwen’s head.
“By the sacred laws vested in me, I pronounce you Guinevere, queen of Camelot,” said Arthur. He placed the crown on her head and then he helped her up and she went across to the throne on Arthur’s right-hand side. They swapped hands and Arthur took Rose’s over hand and the three of them sat down Arthur in between them. The dream then changed for Rose that was new it usually ended with throne room she was being dragged from the lake of Avalon by Merlin, she was lifeless, and Merlin was crying.

Rose awoke with a gasp a few seconds later she heard Morgana do the exact same thing. Rose got out of bed and headed over to see her guardian who was already up staring out the window. She wrapped her arm around her waist.
“Is everything all right, my lady” asked Gwen. They both jumped and turned around to look at her.
“We’re fine, its late you should go to bed” said Morgana in a firm voice.
“Good night” said Gwen
“Goodnight Gwen” said Rose and Morgana together before she left the room. Rose summoned a raven before writing a quick note to Morgause.
“Come on let’s get dressed and go for a walk,” said Rose. She went across to her part of the chambers and got into a simple dress and shoes. Morgana was dressed when she entered her area of the chamber.

They walked around the castle for a while Morgana seemed shaken up by the dream, but Rose couldn’t help wondering why she had the extra part of the dream about Merlin pulling her out of Avalon.
“Sister, Rose” said a voice in Morgana’s and Rose’s head. They followed the voice a door opened at the end of the corridor “this way”. The fire lit up a torch on its own accord Morgana picked up the torch and they walked further into a chamber.
“Hello, sister, Rose” said Morgause. Morgana hugged her straight away looking upset.
“I can’t tell how good it is to see you,” said Morgana. She stood back and then Rose hugged Morgause before stepping back.

Morgause took both their hands. Morgana took Rose’s hand, so they were all holding hands in a circle.
“I received Rose’s message, what are these dreams that are troubling you both” said Morgause.
“They show a ceremony in Camelot, it’s our serving girl Gwen she crowned queen, Rose is standing at Arthur’s side like she is his ward,” said Morgana.
“We have been seeing the same thing night after night,” said Rose.
“There are some dreams that are so powerful that your healing bracelets won’t stop them” said Morgause.
“So is it a prophecy,” said Rose.
“How can that be? She’s a servant Uther would never allow Arthur to marry her,” said Morgana.
“In the dreams he’s never there and for Arthur to be king, Uther is dead,” said Rose.

She squeezed Morgana’s hand hoping to give her some comfort.
“There are many futures, some are shrouded in mist others as clear as cut class, but your gifts are powerful, and this vison cannot be ignored, you must put an end to this relationship between Arthur and Gwen” said Morgause. Rose had a niggle of guilt then it was replaced with loyalty. No this wasn’t right Gwen was Arthur’s once and future queen, but Morgana had to be queen. What was happening to her?

Rose and Morgana had breakfast and Rose went about her day as normal unfortunately she had not chance to speak to Merlin yet. No Merlin couldn’t help her right now she was going to go out and speak to Kilghara after dinner she decided. Rose didn’t understand what was going on in her head it was like something in there was getting stronger and she had no way of escaping it. She didn’t want to break up Gwen and Arthur, but she had to for Morgana to become queen. At dinner Rose sat next to Morgana at dinner they were eating with Arthur and Uther.

Merlin and Gwen were serving their food and drink. She kept looking across to Merlin. He poured her out some water and a tiny drop got on her dress.
“You clumsy idiot, I should have you put in the stocks,” said Arthur.
“No that’s unnecessary, look no harm done, at least its water not red wine,” said Rose. Arthur gave her smile and she smiled back. This made Morgana narrow her eyebrows slightly.
“How are the defences on the northern border” asked Uther.
“There have been a number of minor skirmishes,” said Rose. Uther looked to Arthur who was staring at Gwen with love like the way he looked at her in the vision.

The king was trying to get his attention and staring at the maidservant was probably going to tip him off that there was something going on.
“Do you believe it is Odin testing our defences” asked Uther.
“Arthur” asked Rose.
“Sorry” said Arthur he sat up and knocked over his goblet and it landed in Uther’s lap he jumped up and Gwen came over to clean it.
“What is wrong with you,” said Uther.
“Nothing, sorry,” said Arthur.
“Should we put you in the stocks,” said Rose. Arthur gave her an amused look. She gave him a wink and then carried on eating. The rest of dinner went off without too much of a hitch every so often Arthur would get lost in Gwen’s eyes. She would kick him under the table when it looked too obvious.

After dinner Morgana went to off to find Arthur and Rose snuck out of the castle where her cloak that completely hid her whole identity. She got to a clearing in the woods and opened her mouth ready.
“O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo! Anale tendai gard amasen fulakson!” called Rose into the air.

A few minutes later Rose heard the wings of her friend he landed in front of her and bowed his yellow eyes staring down at her.
“You called young one I was beginning to worry you had forgotten me” said Kilghara.
“I could never do that old friend, I am going to get to the point, what is my destiny because now it’s unclear” said Rose desperately.
“You are destined to protect the once and future queen by bridging the gap between the light and the dark, the light being Merlin and the dark being Morgana, you will always be between the two sides, you are destined for good” said Kilghara in his calming voice he blew warm air into her face.

“It doesn’t feel like it,” said Rose.
“That is because Morgause has a strong enchantment on you that gets stronger every day you mind is being controlled to not feel guilt or shame and keep you loyal to the old religion they seem to think your feelings of guilt will get ruin their plans, you also have a protection spell on your necklace which is attempting get rid of the enchantment and your own mind is fighting against it causing you to feel exhausted” explained Kilghara.

The feeling of hurt stung her deeply Morgause didn’t trust her enough to not turn against them. She didn’t need an enchantment.
“Who has done the protection spell,” said Rose.
“I assume it’s the druid boy’s it’s not strong enough to be your brother’s work” said Kilghara. Rose sighed she heard noise from nearby the dragon bent his neck down and she climbed on before flying away.

They went to a cave area, and she got down before sitting down on a rock. It was just like old times just no chains.
“How do I get rid of the enchantment” asked Rose.
“I think you already know the answer for that, you must be submerged in the lake of Avalon while I do the healing spell to rid you off all enchantments, the time for that though is not now, it has to be when you are, and Merlin are separated during the battle for Camelot” said Kilghara. Rose sighed and put her head in her hands.
“I might kill someone under this enchantment,” said Rose.
“No, you are not a cold-blooded killer, you would never kill your friends, ever notice that as soon as one of them is nearly killed you become clearer headed” said Kilghara. Rose stared at her dragon friend for a minute before smiling.

The sun had set so it was dark in the cave Rose stared at a rock and it burst into flames. She stared at it as it lit up the cave.
“Can I ask one more question” asked Rose.
“Off course” said Kilghara a smile on his face.
“Sometimes I feel Morgause’s pain and sometimes she’ll feel mine, why is this?” asked Rose.
“The high priestesses of the old religion are linked together; they have a connection you and Morgause are the last high priestesses left” said Kilghara.

They sat and talked a bit longer until she started yawning. She got on Kilghara then and he took her to the field just outside Camelot. The sun was rising, and they landed “get some rest”. Rose got down from Kilghara and walked to her chambers. She fell asleep on her bed quickly to dream again of Arthur crowning Gwen queen.

Rose woke up sometime later she looked at the window it was past midday she got up and drew herself up a bath. She sat in the hot water and thought about what Kilghara had told her. There was no way out of this enchantment. She thought about it the reason she was so tired a lot of the time was because she was fighting it and the necklace was fighting it. She wondered if she stopped fighting it what would happen.

She distracted however with Morgana entering the room.
“I lead Uther straight to them, he banished Gwen however we do have a problem” said Morgana she sat down on the bed.
“What is the problem?” asked Rose she got hold of the towel and got out the bath. She got hold of one of her casual dresses and went behind the screen. 
“Arthur is going to leave with Gwen and the return to Camelot, so I am going to plant a poultice in his bed and accuse our future queen as a sorcerer,” said Morgana.

Rose got dressed and dried her hair quickly with magic. This couldn’t be happening. Yes, it could don’t fight against it. They had dinner in the council chambers neither Arthur or Uther were at dinner, so it was just Rose and Morgana. After dinner Morgana planted the poultice in Arthur’s bed he was out probably talking to Gwen or something. Rose waited outside the room standing guard. Morgana came out the room and sucked in a breath “Time to go warn the king of his sons enchantment”. Rose nodded and smiled.

They went to Uther’s chambers and knocked on the door.
“Enter” said Uther they both entered he smiled when he saw them “Morgana, Rose”.
“We were concerned about you, my lord,” said Morgana.
“You weren’t at dinner,” said Rose. Morgana started to light the candles and Rose went over to Uther and sat down on a chair next to him the table.
“Ugh I have no appetite,” said Uther. Rose wanted to roll her eyes that this, his son had fallen in with a maid what was crazy about that.
“You’re worried about Arthur,” said Morgana.
“I do not understand his feeling for this girl, she’s a servant,” said Uther.

Rose again had the urge to roll her eyes but again she held back on that, she smiled at the thought of Uther’s reaction if he found out that she was courting a druid.
“It’s weird Arthur has never told me about feelings for Gwen and now he is confessing his love for her, Rose is worried,” said Morgana.
“What worries you young one” said Uther putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Arthur he’s not himself it’s almost like he’s, I dare not say it,” said Rose. Morgana came and sat down next to Rose putting her hand on her other shoulder. She tried to keep her mind calm but the battle for her mind was raging.
“Speak your mind he won’t be angry,” said Morgana. Rose realised at that pointed she had just been staring nervously at Uther.
“It’s almost as if Arthur is under a spell,” said Rose. Uther stared at her for a minute before ordering the guard to search Arthur’s chambers.

They all went to the council chambers and Morgana and Rose stood together as a guard came in showing Uther the poultice. Gaius was then sent for not long after. He came in calmly; the king quickly gave him the poultice. Gaius eyed it up with interest.
“Is it magical” asked Uther.
“I believe so, these are the symbols of the old religion” said Gaius he looked at it then looked at Uther.
“Could it be used to cast an enchantment” asked Uther. Rose felt like her heart was beating fast, Gwen was going to be sentenced to death and it will be all her fault. The feeling of nothing was worse than guilt it was torture.
“That would be one use of such a poultice,” said Gaius.
“This enchantment, could it cause someone to fall in love?” asked Uther.

Morgana was smiling, was she trying to give herself away maybe Morgause should have put an enchantment on her to stop her smiling when things weren’t a happy moment.
“It is entirely possible; may I ask where it was found,” said Gaius.
“It was discovered in Arthur’s chambers, find Morgana’s and Rose’s maid and bring her to me immediately,” said Uther. Gaius looked Morgana directly in the eye and she glared back at him.
“We don’t know if it’s Gwen, my lord,” said Rose. Uther ignored her and sat down on his throne, Gwen was bought in between two guards and forced on to their knees she groaned with impact.

Rose moved forward but Morgana grabbed her hand pulled her back.
“Do you recognize it” said Uther putting the poultice straight into her face, she flinched backwards and looked around at the others in the room.
“Never seen it before in my life” said Gwen honestly her voice was shaking slightly with nerves.
“Really” said Uther glaring down at the servant “I believe you planted it in Arthur’s chambers, to enchant him”.
“She has always been a loyal and committed servant, she doesn’t have magic,” said Rose.
“Why then would Arthur go for someone like her,” said Uther.

Rose didn’t like this at all she didn’t want Gwen sentenced to death, yeah, she does. The battle for her mind was going again it was making her whole head start to ache.
“That’s not true” said Gwen in a small voice “I don’t expect someone like you to understand that”. He back handed her across the face. Rose stepped forward and stood next Gwen putting her hand on her shoulder.
“My lord, Gwen had always been a loyal and trusted servant” protested Morgana now she says something in Gwen’s defence even if she was only pretending to be concerned.

Uther got up and moved over to Morgana.
“I have no doubt she’s feigned loyalty, while using her position to get close to my son,” said Uther.
“She’s been working for Morgana for years now, how come only now does she do this, something isn’t right here,” said Rose. Morgana gave her an impressed look.

The door opened and everyone looked around as Merlin and Arthur walked in.
“What is the meaning of this,” said Arthur. The headache was splitting her head she couldn’t stand it anymore. She couldn’t watch her be sentenced to death she ran from the room before anyone could stop her, tears running down her face.

Rose went to Gaius’s chambers took a headache draft and picked up a book there had to be a quicker way to get rid of her enchantment. She shouldn’t have to wait and loose her mind in the process. Merlin and Gaius walked in both looking sombre.
“Gwen has been sentenced to death,” said Merlin. Rose immediately burst into tears she wanted out of this stupid enchantment and spell.
“I didn’t want this, Merlin take me to Avalon just drown me already, I can’t live like this anymore,” cried Rose. Merlin came over to her hugged her tightly.
“I can’t do it until the battle of Camelot,” said Merlin.

She hugged back and soon she calmed hiccupping slightly. All three of the people in the room sat and drank tea.
“How did you find out” asked Gaius.
“Kilghara told me,” said Rose. Merlin looked at Rose with interest for a minute.
“Can I ask why Morgana wants Gwen dead?” asked Merlin. Rose looked at him and smiled she forgot that she hadn’t had chance to tell him yet about the dream she had been having. Rose told Merlin and Gaius about the dream.
“So, in the future I will be king Arthur’s ward,” said Rose. She sighed and put her head on the table this whole business was exhausting “Off course I won’t make that too obvious otherwise he’ll be accused of sorcery”. Merlin laughed at that before they got to work to save Gwen.

The next day the pyre was being built and the guards were doubled around Arthur’s chambers and the pyre. Rose found herself being summoned to Arthur’s chambers the moment she woke up, she ate breakfast and dressed before heading to his chambers, Morgana seemed not to mind too much about this, she wondered if Morgause had reassured her. She went there and knocked on the door.
“Enter” said Arthur. Rose entered the room; the prince was stood at his window. She went over to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“You wanted to see me,” said Rose.
“You got distressed yesterday and I wanted to see you were okay,” said Arthur.

Rose nodded and pulled away he picked up her hand and held it.
“I am alright, I just don’t want Gwen sentence to death, I know how much this must upset you” said Rose sadly. Arthur looked at her sadly and nodded a few tears coming into his eyes as he watched the pyre start to be build. Merlin came running in looking determined, he smiled when saw Rose there.
“We need to find a way to smuggle Gwen out of          Camelot,” said Merlin.
“My father has me on constant watch, there are guards everywhere” said Arthur he sighed sadly looking completely broken “I can’t watch her die”

“Merlin go speak to Gwen see if you can get any information out of her over who might have set her up, Arthur we are not going to stand here and watch the pyre get built, come on lets go do some training” said Rose. Before he could protest Rose grabbed his sword and gave it to him and dragged him from the room. “Merlin work out anyway to get her out of this” added Rose into Merlin’s head. Merlin looked at her and nodded.

Rose and Arthur trained for a few hours on sword work, foot work and finally at long last he was teaching her to do archery. She struggled to start off with, but she got the hang of it towards the end. He seemed to enjoy teaching her and soon he was smiling again. They went back into the castle and Arthur speaking to the guards. A man with silvery grey hair went pasted them and into Arthur’s room. Rose followed him with confusion and Arthur followed her. The man was stood by the bed pretending to do a spell, that was odd he wasn’t even saying any

spell but pretending to do the spell. At the moment if he was doing magic with the spell the worst, he would do was turn the pillow into a frog. Rose noticed the wizard was wearing Gaius’s clothes. They both put their swords to his back.
“Show yourself!” said Arthur. 
“Who are you” asked Rose. The strange magician stood there for a minute before deciding on a name that was suspicious surely, he should know what his own name was.
“I am Dragoon the great” said the man turning around. Rose stared at him and then stared at him open mouthed, this was no stranger this was Merlin, Merlin under an aging spell.
“Is it you who planted the poultice in my bed?” asked Arthur.
“You have caught me red handed, I have no choice but to confess,” said old Merlin. Arthur put his sword to old Merlin’s chest.
“An innocent girl almost died because of your actions” said Arthur angrily.
“I told you to use any method not this! You idiot if he recognises you, what if the spell doesn’t hold” said Rose into Dragoon’s head.

This couldn’t be happening first her best friend was sentenced to death now her brother decided he fancied a bit of suicide; things were just going so well.
“I suppose your father will have to let her go then, now you have caught me,” said old merlin.
“I should run you through where you stand,” said Arthur.
“I really wouldn’t do that if I were you, because if you do that,” said old Merlin.

Rose stared at him as he attempted to finish his sentence.
“We’ll never know what he was planning if we kill him,” said Rose.
“What she said,” said Old Merlin.
“What plan?” said Arthur looking confused.
“Exactly! That’s why you can’t run me through,” said Old Merlin. Rose stared at them both, Arthur to look like he was recognising him slightly.  Rose just wanted to bang her head into the wall repeatedly this plan was so dangerous.
“Have we met?” asked Arthur, old Merlin looked at Arthur face intensely and he did it back.

This was so weird. 
“No, I never forget a face” said Old Merlin dismissively.
“Your eyes, we’ve met somewhere before,” said Arthur.
“Me, no!” said Old Merlin desperately he got bored of the conversation and shouted a spell that caused a helmet to fly straight into Arthur’s head.

Old Merlin ran out the room and Rose followed him they avoided the guards and Merlin attempted to make himself young again “Edniwe min geoguð!” he looked at his hands and felt his face he was old still the panic in his eyes gave Rose a shiver. 
“Try again” whispered Rose.
“Edniwe min geoguð!” said Old Merlin again and still he stayed old.
“Run, blast me back with magic” whispered Rose, Arthur came out his room with the guards in their general direction. Merlin did this but gently Rose went flying into the air and landed on the floor. Arthur helped her up before they carried on chasing him down. Arthur chucked a dagger at him, and it caught his sleeve as he ran through the door. The guards restrained him.

Arthur and Rose entered the council chamber where there was a meeting with the council Gaius stood at the end of the table and Morgana was at the other end of the table.
“Father” said Arthur.
“Sire” said Rose.
“Arthur, Rose” greeted Uther. Old Merlin got bought in by the guards Gaius gave him a concerned look before keeping himself straight faced “who is this?”. Rose couldn’t believe she had captured her own brother and handing him in with Arthur what on earth was going on. Camelot was crazy.
“He is the sorcerer,” said Arthur.
“We found him planting this under Arthur’s pillow,” said Rose. Arthur handed him the poultice and looked at him hopefully this news would save Gwen this was the point of it but at the same time now Merlin was going to potentially have the same fate.
“Is this true” asked Uther to the old man.

Morgana looked at Rose with confusion, she shrugged at her before getting back to the task at hand.
“Yes” said Old Merlin. He stayed calm and looked Uther dead in the face. This must be weird for Merlin.
“What did you hope to achieve with the enchantment” asked Uther.
“If the prince was to fall in love with a lowly servant girl, a servant on the throne Camelot would fall,” said Old Merlin.
“Have I wronged you in some way old man” said Uther in an arrogant voice.
“You have wronged so many people in so many ways. You're blinded by your hatred of magic. You have tortured and executed innocent people. You, Uther Pendragon, are a stupid, arrogant old tyrant!” shouted old Merlin. Rose put her hand to face in embarrassment was he trying to get himself executed on the spot, Arthur won’t be able to unite the land of Albion if Merlin was executed. 

Uther looked amused.
“Hold your tongue,” said Arthur. Old Merlin rounded on Arthur for another shout.
“Oh, I know you mistreat your servants! They do everything for you, but do they ever get any thanks? No! You're a spoiled arrogant brat!” shouted Old Merlin Rose and Gaius rolled their eyes at the same time maybe if they did decide to execute him on the spot, she can unite the land of Albion “With the brain of a donkey and the breath of a toad”.

Rose couldn’t help giggle at that bit. She got hold of old Merlin’s arm with one of the guards moving him away from Arthur.
“The serving girl was she your accomplish” said Rose getting the conversation back on track as the knights and guards were looking ready to kill Merlin where he stood.
“No, I enchanted her too, the girl is entirely innocent,” said Old Merlin. Arthur looked to Uther with begging eyes.
“My lord he has confessed,” said Arthur. Uther turned to the knight on his left-hand side.
“Release the girl, tomorrow at dawn you will take her place on the pyre, take him away,” said Uther.  Rose and the guard took Old Merlin from the room he looked upset and defeated. He couldn’t get that spell working that was the problem. Arthur walked ahead of them obviously getting ready to release Gwen.

They let Gwen out the cell and put Old Merlin into the cell. Rose waited behind to speak to the sorcerer. She went in once the guards and Arthur left.
“You idiot!” said Rose smacking him round the head. Old Merlin winced and looked scared as he looked out the window.
“Gwen is no longer going to die” offered Old Merlin in a smirk.
“No, you are instead,” said Rose. She took his hands “geedleánend Bfielinghad byre” nothing happened she sighed and left the cell and sat down so she was leant again the metal cell doors.

Gaius came and joined them in their despair.
“Merlin what happened?” asked Gaius.
“The spell won’t work Gaius, it’s too powerful” cried Merlin.
“Try it again,” said Gaius.
“We can’t I’ve tried, Rose has tried, we have even tried together” said Merlin desperately he looked at them sadly “I am stuck like this”.
“No, Uther will have you burnt” said Gaius Rose looked at him with shock.
“There must be a way to break the spell” said Rose and Old Merlin at the same time. Gaius looked at them both weirdly.
“Even when he’s 80 you still speak at the same time,” said Gaius.

There had be something a spell or maybe even an antidote. She remembered reading a book on potions, but she couldn’t remember what book it was.
“I remember reading in a book about an antidote,” said Rose.
“Yes, the only one I can think off is the book of Gala there's an antidote that can undo such aging spells,” said Gaius.
“How long will that take” asked Merlin.
“Longer than you have I fear, buy yourself some time,” said Rose. Both Gaius and Rose walked quickly away to get the potion sorted.

 They went to Gaius’s chambers and got to work on the potion they had to get the potion a certain colour for it to work. She helped him read the book while Gaius did the potion.

Rose started to have a bad feeling about it all if it didn’t work Rose would save Merlin herself there was no way she was letting him die. Gaius fell asleep at some point and then Rose carried with it all night until just before dawn. She nudged Gaius to wake up and they carried on with the potion. Rose could feel the time passing away and it scared her.

Once the potion was complete the bell was tolling for the start of the execution. Rose and Gaius got up and went in the direction of the square, Merlin was being led through the doors outside by Arthur.
“Give me the potion, I’ll run” said Rose to Gaius quietly, he gave her the potion and she ran after the execution party the drums rolled as Merlin was taken to the Pyre.
“You have been found guilty of using magic and enchantments. In accordance with our law, you will be burned at the stake. Let this serve as a lesson to all those who seek to destroy Camelot” said Uther from the balcony, Morgana stood next to him.

Lucky for Rose she wasn’t expected to witness executions with the king yet on the balcony. Morgana had refused to let her go to them and the year that she had been missing Arthur had refused to let her even be on the same side of the castle to the execution. She moved to the front of the crowd, Gaius joined her at the front of the crowd, and she coughed. Old Merin turned around to look at her Gaius tapped Rose’s hand. He lunged at them and took the potion from her hands.
“I put a curse on you all! I shall get my revenge,” shouted Old Merlin.

They pulled him away from them and Arthur put his hand on both their shoulders.
“Are you okay” asked Arthur.
“We are fine Arthur,” said Rose. He was about to speak to Rose, but Old Merlin set the pyre alight, everyone jumped backwards to avoid the flames. Old Merlin ran through the crowd with the potion, Rose chased after him.
“After him” called Arthur. Rose caught up to Merlin and dragged him into an alcove and he drank the potion. Merlin became young and immediately was wobbly on his feet. Arthur came running down the corridor with the guards. Merlin and Rose went around the corner to meet them.
“Where’s the sorcerer?” demanded Arthur.
“He” said Merlin his voice was dragoon still he coughed and pointed down the hall “he went that way”. Rose decided he was safe so decided to go to her chambers. She went in and saw Gwen was there folding up her laundry.

Rose smiled and ran over and hugged her tightly. Then pulled away and looked Gwen over to make sure she was okay.
“I was so worried, are you okay,” said Rose.
“I am alright,” said Gwen.
“I promise I won’t let anything like this happen again,” said Rose. Gwen gave an appreciative smile before sorting out the rest of her clothes. Rose watched her and talked to her while she did glad that once again her friends were safe.

The end

Chapter Text

Not a lot had happened in Camelot since Rose found out she was under an enchantment to feel no guilt or shame and to stay loyal to the old religion, there had been a tournament that everyone had attended but Rose had ended up watching it feeling bored.  One of the opponents was using magic and offending everyone. Morgana hadn’t let her out her sight that week, so Rose had ended up not being able to help with that. Rose was helping Gaius look over Leon he had arrived back in Camelot after being feared dead, Arthur stood over them wanting to make sure that his friend was okay. Merlin and Uther stood by the table waiting for them to finish. They finished off and Rose told him to rest. The druids had saved him by using the cup of life, so Uther was waiting on more information.
“Is that it?” asked Leon.
“That’s it,” said Gaius. They stood up and looked at Arthur who folded his arms.
“He’s exhausted, sire and severely dehydrated but he’ll live another day,” said Gaius.
“With rest he’ll make a full recovery” said Rose happily.

Rose was relieved she had been so gutted when she had heard that she was dead. He had always been a good fighter and would always protect her from harm when she would sneak into battle.
“Thank you Rose, Gaius” said Arthur with a small smile. They left the room and Rose went to go find Morgana to let her know what she had found out. She waited in their chambers until Morgana came in. The battle for her mind was lost and she was doing it this way so that she can act the part but do it in a way that no one was harmed. Fighting the spell was exhausting so she stopped every so often to give herself a break.
“So, what do you know of the cup of life” said Morgana.
“It’s in Cenred’s kingdom, it has so much power, it can raise people from the brink of death, and it can cause people to become immortal” said Rose.
“I overheard Uther talking to Arthur about it, I must tell Morgause,” said Morgana. Rose went to the window and summoned a raven while Morgana wrote to Morgause. They sent the bird off and got a reply “Morgana meet me in the dungeons of the castle”. Rose nodded and left Morgana to go and meet her sister.

Rose woke up the next morning to watch Merlin and Arthur set off on their quest to get the cup of life. Morgana came to join her and smiled.
“They won’t last long, Cenred will have them watched, then we will have the cup of life” said Morgana.
“Is Morgause making an immortal army?” asked Rose.
“She is” said Morgana. They both smiled to each other before going about their day. Rose went to her usual spot over Camelot and sat there for a while it was a nice summers day, but all Rose could feel was the anxiety for her brother. The fight for Camelot was upon them which meant it was almost time for her to be submerged in the lake of Avalon, she had read about it there was chance that it wouldn’t work or worse it could work but kill her. She was scared but she knew it had to happen. Rose felt sad and worried about her brother. She sat there for a while watching everyone in the square and the town going about their day. After spending all day there, Rose went to find Morgana she found her in their chambers. Morgana looked happy like all her Christmases had come at once.
“Morgause has the cup! She is making her immortal army as we speak,” said Morgana. Rose came over to her and hugged her.
“Not long now then,” said Rose.
“They be will be with us every soon indeed” said Morgana.

Rose and Morgana looked out the window into the darkness of nightfall. Rose couldn’t help worrying about Merlin and Arthur hoping wherever they were they were safe and sound. To get the cup wouldn’t have been easy, she wished that she could watch Morgause make the immortal army it would be interesting to watch.

They got summoned to the council chambers by Uther they went there, he gave them a smile as they bowed and went to stand behind him. Leon came in with a few of the knights. Uther looked concerned as they entered.
 “Still no sign of Arthur” asked Uther.
“No, none whatso ever,” said Leon.
“He should be back by now” said Uther looking worried.
“I’m sure there’s a simple explanation sire” said Leon giving them a look.

Rose knew that he was only trying to comfort Uther there was no way loyal Leon wouldn’t concerned for Arthur.
“They should be back by now, take a patrol, as many as you need, whatever it takes find him” said Uther he said it in a voice which meant no argument, he was concerned over the whereabouts and safety of his son and that was obvious. Leon nodded and left the room with the knights.
“You show great strength my lord” said Morgana.
“What do you mean” asked Uther turning to face them both, Morgana took his hands and held them in hers. This was going to destroy him when he finds out that Morgana was plotting against him and took over. Morgana comforted Uther with soft words but she was building him up only to tear him down later.

Rose went to her chambers and let herself go to sleep for a bit. She woke up and again she was summoned to the council chambers. She got herself dressed in casual trousers and tunic. Morgana and Rose went to the council chamber again this time it was different there was a tension in the air. Rose and Morgana stood to the back of the room by the throne.
“There is an army on its way to us as we speak” said Leon to the room of people. Rose felt a tightening of her heart at his words.
“We must convene the council of war” said Uther.
“They cannot be stopped. The soldiers sire they will not fall” said Leon.
“What are you saying” said Uther.
“They will not die!” said Leon. Rose knew it was the immortal army, she expected it however to take longer than this. There was a good amount of people in his army it should have taken longer.
“Gather the knights, prepare whatever defences you can” said Uther. Rose stared at him in shock they were an immortal army! He was knowingly sending his men to his death and didn’t seem to care about this fact. Morgana would make a much better queen by far.
“But Sire” said Leon.
“Just do as I say” snapped Uther. They all left the room except Gaius who stayed behind to talk to Uther “It’s Cenred, it must be”.
“How? The location of the cup was secret” said Rose acting her part.
“There is only explanation, we have a traitor in the heart of Camelot” said Gaius.

They got dismissed by Uther. Rose went to help the army she helped the army but there an atmosphere of loss they all knew Uther had sentenced them all die she hated it so much. She helped them for a while until she went to her chambers to see that Gwen was staring out the window. Cenred’s army were lining up one by one she took Gwen’s hand and held it giving it a squeeze. Rose saw how scared she looked. 
“Gwen, Rose” said Morgana from behind them they turned around to face her.
“Is it true they attack at dawn” asked Gwen nervously. Morgana and Rose nodded slowly at that question.
“I’m afraid so” said Morgana with a fake look of worry on her face, again how had her traitor status not been noticed before she smiled at the wrong moments, her worry was fake, and she glared at everyone that wasn’t Rose or Morgause.
“And no one has heard from Arthur or Merlin yet,” said Gwen.

Rose shook her head and looked back out the window the army had doubled in number. They would take the citadel as soon as they started the fight “then we are done for every last one of us”.
“Not everyone has to die” said Morgana.
“What do you mean not everyone” asked Gwen. Rose turned around to face both women hopefully this would a way to keep Gwen safe by making Morgana think she is on their side.
“Those that defy them, those who choose to fight, they will surely die” said Morgana. Rose stepped forward and stood so she was next to her guardian.
“Those who do not resist, those that welcome change they will have a future here” said Rose.

Rose felt the battle for her mind return as her emotions went straight to guilt again, her mind then went to loyalty she would not let her fellow high priestess down. She stopped fighting her mind and sighed inwardly.
“Everyone has a choice Gwen” said Morgana. Gwen smiled slightly and looked between them.
“You know I have always been loyal to you, Morgana, and I always will be,” said Gwen. Morgana hugged Gwen and then so did Rose. She hugged her and wished she could communicate what was going on with her. She probably thought her a monster, maybe she was a monster.
“Then have no fear, no harm will come to you, I promise you that,” said Morgana. She hugged Gwen again and with her back away from Rose. Gwen looked at her, Rose pointed to her own healing bracelet and mimed casting a spell. Her eyes widened and she nodded before pulling away. That was Gwen safe that just left Gaius. Rose left the room and went to the physian’s chambers. She found Gaius preparing some potions.
“Hide! You need to hide, the army are immortal and will kill you quick” said Rose in a rush of words, the old man stared at her before heading over to his supply cupboard.
“You will be free soon,” said Gaius. She hugged him before heading back to join Morgana.

Rose’s prediction was correct the next morning at dawn the citadel was taken by the immortal army quickly and by midday they had taken over the whole of Camelot. Many men had died, and many had been wounded. The ones that had surrendered were left alone; Rose had watched from her chambers as everything fell around her. Morgana came in the evening looking pleased with herself.
“So, what should I wear to my coronation” said Morgana excitedly. Rose went across to the wardrobe and got out one of Morgana’s purple dresses.
“This one makes you look very queen like,” said Rose.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening” said Morgana excitedly, Rose nodded and helped her get ready “I wouldn’t have got through any of it, without you, you keep me sane you taught me magic isn’t evil I owe that to you and Morgause”.
“I happy to always be at your side” said Rose taking her hand. Rose was then prepared for the coronation. She felt the usual magic of Merlin entering the castle. She smiled as they walked to the throne room.

They stood in the throne room the armies lined up in rows. Morgause stood at the front.                                                                                     
“Get the king” said Morgause. Two of the men nodded and left the room. It didn’t take long to bring a struggling Uther into the room. He was forced on to his knees front of Morgause.
“Well Uther, how the mighty have fallen you won’t be needing this anymore” said Morgause. She removed the crown from Uther’s head slowly. He struggled against the men holding him down.
“This is unlawful, you cannot do this, you have no right to the throne” shouted Uther. Morgana stepped forward pulling Rose with her.
“No, she does not, but I do” said Morgana she moved even more forward so she was stood in front of Uther instead of Morgause, so she was ready to accept the crown. Uther’s face was of anger and then it changed to shock and then sadness “I am your daughter after all, don’t look so surprised I have known for some time”. Morgana then sat down on the throne in the middle and Rose sat at one on her left-hand side. Morgause nodded and Geoffrey was pushed forward holding two crowns. Rose turned to look at Morgana frowning why did he two crowns.
“By the power vested in me I crown thee Morgana Pendragon queen of Camelot,” said Geoffrey. He placed the crown on her head then went behind the back of the thrones to Rose’s throne “by the power vested in me I crown thee Rose Pendragon crowned princess of Camelot”. She gasped and looked at him. She didn’t have a last name and since when was she going to be crowned Princess. Joffrey put a crown on her head and all Rose could do was stare into the distance.

The end

Chapter Text

The first few days of Morgana’s reign wasn’t the best, the knights wouldn’t yield to her command, Uther was depressed, and everything was going wrong. She couldn’t believe it had happened in all her time in Camelot she never seen the knights so disobedient, Morgana had the knights lined up square with archery arrows pointed at them. Rose, Morgana and Morgause stood on the balcony overlooking the square.
“I will give you one last chance to pledge your allegiance to us,” said Morgana. The archers bought this bows up to aim. Leon smirked up at them.
“Long live the king,” shouted Leon. Rose didn’t feel anything, but annoyance were they trying to get themselves killed. The enchantment on her was stronger with Morgause now living in the castle and being the cause of it. The battle for mind was lost and she was close to just giving up completely.
“Long live the king!” shouted the rest of knight.
“Perhaps this will change your mind” said Morgana she bought her arm down for the arrows to shoot but instead of hitting the knights the arrows were shot at the peasants and the crowd only there to watch. Leon screamed a long No, and everyone ran off screaming. Rose put her hands over ears and ran into the castle. She went to her room got into bed and pulled the covers over her head. How had she ended up here? She had gone from a simple life in a village to royalty in only a few years. She wanted to see Merlin, she missed him even though it had only been a week.

She got out of bed and went to Gaius’s chambers to get a few books before heading over her favourite balcony above Camelot. She sat and read for a while trying to forget about the fact; she was now crowned princess what was that about. The plan had been to make Morgana queen not to make Rose crowned Princess. She was sure she was too young to be it anyway; it basically made her Queen if something happened to Morgana, but she couldn’t be a teenage queen. Also, Morgana had given her a last name, her last name, did that make her adopted daughter now? She read about potions and magic until it became dark. She put the books in her bags and went back to her chambers. On her way back she heard Morgana and Morgause talking they were standing over the prison gate.

Rose moved so she was out of sight but could still hear them. She relaxed her magic so that Morgause wouldn’t sense her.
“It is as we expected she has betrayed us; I’ll have her executed at dawn,” said Morgana.
“No, wait, let her take Rose and we put a tracker spell on her, give them the illusion that they are safe for a day or so, then use the tracker find Arthur, my enchantment will not be broken anytime soon, she’ll find her way back to us” said Morgause. Rose walked to her chambers a different way her head buzzing with information. They going to let Gwen take her with her in her escape of Camelot. This was crazy were they even going to tell her she was getting kidnapped. Gwen came in sometime later and started to blow out the candle. Rose went and laid on her bed falling asleep quickly.  Rose woke up the next morning and stood at the window looking out on to the lower town. The door opened and someone came up behind her before she could fight a drugged cloth got put over her face and she fell backwards as everything went black.

She woke up sometime later propped up against a tree, Gwen watched her as she opened her eyes and looked around, she was in the woods somewhere. She attempted to get up, but Gwen held her shoulder.
“Let go off me” slurred Rose.
“Leon she’s awake,” said Gwen. She saw Leon pass her the drugged cloth again and she put it to her face, and everything went black again.

She awoke sometime later this time waking up weird she opened her eyes, and it was dark she was in Merlin’s arms and he was on Kilghara.
“Did Gwen and Leon find you then” asked Rose. Merlin looked down at her and nodded he tightened his arm around her as Kilghara landed on ground in front of Avalon. He got down and Rose got down he caught her. Merlin took her hand walked her over to water. She stopped as he stepped in and stared him. Her mind was telling her don’t get into the water.
“It’s the enchantment fighting back, coax her in” said Kilghara.
“Rose look at me” said Merlin gently she did as her mind battled again “you trust me, yeah come into the water, it’s safe, your safe, you going to be free, I have never let anything happen to you before, trust me now”. Rose hesitated looking at him “listen to me, you are going to be okay, you'll be free and I will never let anything like this happen to you again”. She attempted to move forward but she couldn’t.                                                                                      
“you think you can tell me what to do the mighty Emerys” said Rose, she did not know it was going to come out her mouth “help me”.       
“I am helping you, I do not ask you for destinies sake, I ask you not as this great warlock people tell me I am, I do it as your brother and your best friend” said Merlin the emotion in his voice.

Rose took a step forward slowly she wanted so badly to be free. She walked in so she was at her waist in the water.
“Pick her up and hold her under, the lady of the lake and myself will heal her, she will struggle but don’t panic and pull her out too early” said Kilghara. Merlin nodded he picked up Rose and plunged her under the water. He held her there for a while, she struggled as she wanted to breathe, her lungs burnt as she struggled to get up into the air. She was dying that was when she felt it powerful magic cleansing her mind and making her feel free. She felt hands go through her hair, she looked to see Freya’s face. She stopped struggling and let herself relax as she passed out.

Rose came around later she was wrapped in a blanket in a cave she was feeling fresh and calmer than she had done in ages. She attempted to sit up but her whole body wouldn’t move, the calmness she felt as she woke up was gone and it was replaced with panic, she couldn’t move, her body felt like lead. Gaius was sat next her.
“Why can’t I move, Gaius, I can’t move” said Rose in a panicked voice.
“It’s alright, it’s alright, your body and magic are healing from the last year of your mind control, you have been fighting it well,” said Gaius. Rose looked at him and realised they were the only two people in the cave until Merlin came in looking panicked. 
“We have been found” said Merlin into the room.
“I’ll slow you down,” said Gaius.
“I’ll also slow you down I can’t move” said Rose in a matter-of-fact way.
“I am not leaving either of you behind,” said Merlin.

He sent Gaius running out the cave before coming over to Rose he grabbed a sword in one hand and picked up Rose and put her over his shoulder, so he still had a hand free. She had no way of holding on she couldn’t keep herself steady. He left the cave with his stuff, and they made it to an alcove. She heard a rock fall and suddenly the noise of shouting men disappeared.
“Change my position please I want to know what’s going on” said Rose grumpily getting sick of only looking at Merlin’s back. Merlin changed her position she was in his arms rather than over her shoulder as they ran up the hill.

He put her down and panted as Lancelot and a strange tall guy came over to them. Arthur formed a huddle near her so that she could listen to what they were saying.
“I know a place that’s too far from here,” said Arthur. Rose attempted to move again but she could barely move.
“Rose’s strength will return soon enough” said Gaius looking down to see that she was attempting to move “it’ll be sooner if she stopped trying to move”.
“What’s up with her” asked Lancelot.
“Morgana and Morgause enchanted her, so to break the enchantment we kidnapped her by drugging her and then we got rid of her healing bracelet, she is weak due to the drugging,” said Gwen. Lancelot raised his eyebrows at Merlin. He gave him a look back; he was getting told truth later.
“We’ll take it in turns to carry her because Merlin will need a break” said Arthur gently. Lancelot put his hand up.
“I’ll take the first carry,” said Lancelot. He scooped her up and held her in his arms. Rose put her hand out using the most of her energy and got hold of Arthur’s arm.
“Arthur, I fought the enchantment, it was too strong” said Rose weakly. He squeezed her hand.
“I know, rest” said Arthur gently.

Rose put her arm folded over her and fell asleep as Lancelot started walking. Rose woke up sometime later they were walking into a castle she was being held by the giant man.
“I never found out your name” said Rose looking up to the man.
“I’m Percival,” said the man. He sat her down at a table, so she was next to Gaius. He then gave them both a drink, she took the drink and drank it slowly.

Rose looked around the room, she was sat at stone table which was round. Arthur pulled of the cover of the table revealing it in all its glory.
“Hey, come join us” said Arthur gently to rest of the room who were gathering supplies everyone came over and sat down.

Arthur sat at the head of it with Gwen on his right and Merin on his left it was an odd kind of table because it was round meaning everyone was at it equally “this table was used by the ancient kings, its round because everyone was equal” that sounded nice a Camelot of equal he was going to make a great king “my father has been rotting in prison for too long, who will come with me to break him out”. Lancelot stood up first oozing the nobility that he usually did.
“You taught me the knights code a way a person lives their life, I will happily serve you,” said Lancelot. Elyan then stood up.
“Even though I was commoner you laid down your life for me, it is now my turn to repay you” said Elyan. Rose’s heart melted at all the loyalty in the room it made her feel guilty for her actions over the last year she hadn’t wanted anyone to get hurt. It was her destiny to be the link between the dark and the light, but she was going to do it willingly. They didn’t need to enchant her.

Leon stood and smiled at Arthur and then to Rose.
“I have fought by your side many times, there is no one more I would rather die for” said Leon looking at Arthur he then turned to Rose and she was surprised she was included in his speech “from the moment I knew you snuck into battle I made sure to keep you safe”.
“Thank you” said Rose and Arthur together.
“I think we have no chance, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world” said Gwaine getting up.
“Your enemies are my enemies” said Percival getting up.
“If you need an old man” said Gaius standing up.
“You know my answer,” said Gwen. Rose gathered all her strength and stood up she stumbled slightly so Gwaine grabbed her arm and steadied her so she could regain her balance.
“You Arthur have shown me a lot of kindness, you let me sneak into battle with the confidence that I will do well, this last year I have been under an enchantment has been so hard I wanted to fight it off, thank you for not giving up on me” said Rose looking directly at Arthur, he gave her a nod with a chocked expression. There was a moment of silence while Merlin stayed sat down with a cheeky expression on his face.
“Merlin” said Arthur.
“I don’t really fancy it,” said Merlin.
“You don’t have a choice Merlin,” said Arthur. Merlin tutted and then stood up to join the rest of the standing “I thank you all for standing up to help me in Camelot’s hour of need, I am now going to do something that my father wouldn’t approve off”. He got up and took his sword out of his belt he looked official and ready “Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan and Rose kneel to be knighted” Rose’s jaw dropped. 
“You’re going to knight me after everything,” said Rose. She walked shakily towards Arthur and hugged him tightly he hugged her back.
“Come on crowned princess of Camelot kneel” said Merlin from behind them.

Rose went over and joined the men who were kneeling, she was so excited she was going to be a knight at last, she was the first lady knight ever Camelot. She knelt at the end of the row.
“Arise sir Lancelot knight of Camelot, arise sir Gwaine knight of Camelot, arise sir Elyan knight of Camelot and finally Arise lady Rose knight of Camelot,” said Arthur. Rose grinned but needed help getting up again, so Arthur put his hand out and she took it and stood up giving him an appreciative smile “Tomorrow when you fight you fight with honour as one of the best armies in the world”. Rose felt a lot more hopeful and happier than she had done before. Arthur sent them all to get some rest. She laid down on the floor next Merlin and Lancelot laid at the other side of him. She scuttled closer to Merlin, so she had her on his shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her. She fell asleep quickly feeling completely exhausted after the last day.

Rose was the first to wake up that morning she got up and walked around the castle a bit exploring. Her strength had returned, and she was using it to her own advantage, it meant no more being carried around. She walked around a bit more before making herself a cup of tea and making a fire to warm herself up in the same room as the round table.
“Your awake then,” said Arthur. Rose jumped and turned around her was stood in the doorway. He then came over and sat down next to her warming up his hands with the fire.
“Did you sleep well” asked Rose.
“Yeah, I slept well considering,” said Arthur.
“Are you alright? It’s not been the best few days for you, it must have been hard finding about Morgana,” said Rose. Arthur sighed and sat back a bit he was leaning on his hands.
“It’s not been easy, don’t worry I knew you were enchanted the moment I saw you in the throne room, you looked scared when you were crowned princess of Camelot,” said Arthur.
“I was because I assumed, they would make Morgause next in line not me, I am 13 if something happened to Morgana, I would be a young queen,” said Rose.
“The youngest queen in Camelot history don’t worry you just have title of the youngest and first lady knight of Camelot, what will we do with you,” said Arthur.

Rose looked at him, unsure about what he meant about the last bit did he want her to leave. She didn’t blame him if he did.
“Once we take Camelot back, do you wish me to return to Ealdor, I completely understand” said Rose she started to get up so she could face away from him. He pulled her back down and got on to his knees.
“Look at me” said Arthur sternly he cupped her face in his hands forcing her to look at him in the face both their blue eyes staring into each other “your home is in Camelot; you will become my ward again”. She stared at him and then he pulled her into a hug. She hugged back tightly.

Soon everyone else started to get up and everyone got ready for the day ahead, Arthur had them stand around the round table as they talked.
“There is a tunnel under the northern ramparts, that brings us only a few paces from the entrance to the dungeons, it’ll will be well-guarded, so if we’re going to breaking everyone out, we must remain unobserved, we cannot let them raise the alarm,” said Arthur.
“I volunteer to take out the warning bell, I need someone that knows the castle” said Lancelot looking directly at Merlin she frowned what was he planning.
“I will go with you,” said Merlin. Arthur gave them both an approving nod. Rose looked across to Gaius who had raised his eyebrows.
“Rose you will distract queen Morgana,” said Arthur. Rose nodded and smiled; she can talk to Morgana about being enchanted which she really wanted to do.

Everyone then panned out getting ready, Arthur kept Gwen behind to talk to her Rose went over to Gaius and Merlin.
“You need to be careful” said Gaius to Merlin.
“What are you planning?” asked Rose in a whisper.
“I’ve got the easy bit; the warning bell is nothing compared to the cells,” said Merlin.
“Don’t lie to me, I am your sister” whispered Rose.
“I overheard you Merlin, he’s going to use the sword forged by a dragon’s breath to knock over the cup of life” said Gaius to Rose in a whisper, her heart dropped that was a very dangerous thing to do if he was found out he would be killed in a second.
“If Morgause catches you she’ll kill you,” said Rose.
“I have no choice,” said Merlin.
“I remember the bumbling idiot that walked into my chambers all those years ago, who’d a thought it” said Gaius he looked chocked up as he looked at his ward. They hugged each other tightly Rose moved away to leave them to have their father son moment in private.

They headed to Camelot not long after the meeting, they had decided on the way there that she would be better to go through the front while the went through the dungeons. She went into the castle and went to find Morgana.
“Morgana” said Rose in her head calling for her.
“I am in our chambers” said Morgana into her head. She went in that direction and went into the chambers. Morgana hugged her and she hugged her back. She then stepped back and looked at her guardian.
“I am not enchanted anymore,” said Rose. Morgana gave her an alarmed look she just stared at her mouth wide open “did neither of you trust me enough”.
“We do trust you we just didn’t want you to feel guilt” said Morgana, Rose shook her head and looked at the older women with hurt and anger in her eyes.
“I would have guilt replaced with loyalty to the old religion, I am a high priestess I was never going to not be loyal to the old religion, I was always on your side, I would have stayed loyal to you this year without the enchantment” said Rose she started to pace as she ranted letting out her hurt and upset to her “I hate Uther he is the reason a lot of my life has been ruined, my life was a lie because of him, I was never going to betray you”.

Morgana looked at her cautiously and approached her slowly.
“I am so sorry, I just was worried about you, what I did I did out of love, I know how frightened I was and I didn’t want the same for you” said Morgana she approached her and cupped her face “you mean so much to me”. That is when Rose truly understood, Morgana wasn’t evil she was scared, had lived with nightmares, told her magic was evil on a regular basis, lived in fear of Uther finding out and executing her and she had also had to deal with the fact her father turned out not to be her father.
“I forgive you, I understand” said Rose Morgana let out a small sob and she hugged her tightly.

Rose moved them over to the bed where they cuddle up. Morgana’s head on Rose’s shoulder with her holding her to her. A few minutes later the warning bell sounded both Rose and Morgana got out of the bed. Morgana got her sword and Rose changed her shawl. She made towards the door but was stopped by a splitting headache. She screamed loudly as she grabbed her head.
“What’s wrong?” asked Morgana desperately.
“My head, it hurts” said Rose. She focused on where the pain was coming from and it was Morgause her head was damage she tracked her and saw her in the throne room “Morgause is seriously hurt, she’s in the throne room”.  Rose fell into Morgana, and she laid her on her bed as the eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out.

When Rose came around later Morgana and Morgause were gone, and Arthur had taken over the kingdom. Uther had become a shell of himself and was practically mute. The next morning Rose sat in her usual spot over Camelot so she could watch Gwen come back from a far. She sat and watched the square. She would get random headaches which was a good thing because it meant that Morgause was alive. Merlin had explained what had happened which made her slightly nervous. She hoped wherever they were they were safe. She looked to see Gwen arrived and Arthur helped her from the horse and kissed her. She smiled and sat back. She had learnt that she didn’t need to worry what was to come will come, and she was ready for what was out there.

The end

Chapter Text

It been 8 months, 12 weeks and 56 days since Morgana and Morgause escaped Camelot not that Rose had been counting, she missed them so much at times. She had missed them both very much. Rose was on a patrol with Sir Leon and sir Elyan and two other knights. She was having a good day pain wise it was dull ache in her head rather than the blinding headaches that she had been experiencing the last few months it wasn’t impossible the idea that Morgause was slowly dying. This day though was a good day weather hadn’t been too wet or cold even though it was the end of the summer and the beginning of the colder months. They saw a woman walking in the distance on the plains of Denaria carry a cart.
“Halt” called Leon. The woman stopped the cart and put it down gently before standing completely still.
“Where are you headed” asked Rose nicely. They all got off their horses and stood in front of the woman.
“The seas of Meredor,” said the woman. Rose recognised her voice at once it was Morgana, she was surprised to see Leon didn’t recognise her voice.
“What’s in the cart” asked Leon. He gestured for the knights to look in the cart.
“No, don’t” said Rose suddenly as Morgana turned around and blasted the four knights back with magic knocking out Leon and Elyan and it killed the other two knights. She left Ro se the last one standing.

Rose stood and looked at Morgana, she ran over and hugged her. Morgana looked into the cart and so did Rose she gasped Morgause was laying there her face disfigured and her eye on the left-hand side of the face.
“Who did that to you, I’ll kill them” said Rose her anger at the look of the older high priestess, also she wanted to know who they thought it was.
“It was Gaius, no you must keep your place in Camelot” said Morgause weakly. Rose walked away and moved her horse forward passing the rope to Morgana she then attached the cart to the horse.
“Here, stay safe, go before they wake up” said Rose.
“Know Rose I am so proud of what you have become” said Morgause weakly her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Morgana got on the horse, and they cantered away into the distance. Rose went over to check on Leon and Elyan who were still unconscious. She sat down and waited for them to come around. Leon came around first then Elyan Rose went over to them and helped him to sit up.
“Are you alight?” asked Rose.
“Yeah, what happened” asked Leon.
“Morgana knocked you two out and knocked me back and stole my horse, come on we need to head back to Camelot” said Rose jumping on to one of the dead knight’s horses. Leon and Elyan got on their horse’s, and they set off into a canter.

They arrived at Camelot in late afternoon and went straight to the council chambers to see Arthur. He stood at the front as he was prince regent while Uther was sitting in his chambers being mute and acting like his whole life was over. He was a shell of his former self. Rose stood between Leon and Elyan.
“The reports are true sire we caught up with Morgana on the plains of Denaria,” said Leon.
“Was she alone?” asked Arthur.
“No, Morgause was in the cart,” said Rose.
“Where was she headed” asked Agravaine from the shadows.
“The sea of Meredor I believe she is headed for the isle of the blessed, she knocked the four knights back with magic, sir Elyan and Sir Leon were knocked the other two were killed on impacted, she knocked me back gently and then stole my horse” explained Rose.
“We’ll send out a patrol at first light” said Agravaine. Arthur nodded and everyone left except Rose, Arthur and Agravaine in the room. Arthur pulled Rose to him in a hug.
“Are you okay?” asked Arthur he stepped back and looked at her to see if she was okay keeping his hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah it was weird seeing her again after all this time” said Rose.
“Why is it nothing for months and now this” said Arthur looking anxiously between Rose and Agravaine.
“She couldn’t stay hidden for long; don’t worry we’ll be ready for her” said Agravaine.
“I am off to get ready for the feast, want me to meet you at your chambers or are you going to meet me at mine?” asked Rose moving the conversation away from Morgana to lighten the conversation, the subject of Morgana would make Arthur gloomy and Agravaine would say random rubbish about magic being evil. To be fair Agravaine was Arthur’s uncle on his mother side, so he had seen his sister die due to magic. She was surprised he was loyal to Arthur and Uther.
“I’ll come to yours,” said Arthur.

Rose squeezed his arm and left the room. She went to her chambers to see Gwen was waiting for her. She was helped into a green dress and had her hair put into a braid down her back, she looked at herself in her mirror. She had grown even more in the last 8 months and had turned 14. Arthur was always telling her she looked a lot older because of her height which is good for battle.
“Thank you, Gwen,” said Rose. She had a jolt of pain go through her head she put her hand to her head and held her head.
“Are you alright” asked Gwen in concern.
“I’m alright just a bit of a headache,” said Rose. There was a knock at the door, Gwen went and opened the door. Rose got up and came over as well to see that it was Arthur dressed up in his prince regent outfit. Gwen and Arthur kissed before putting his arm out for Rose to take. They walked towards the feast room.
“You look pretty,” said Arthur.
“Thanks, you look alright yourself, very official,” said Rose. They walked into the room to a fanfare, and everyone stood up and sat down as they sat down, she would never get used to that she hated it all eyes being on her it was bizarre. She sipped her wine and listened to the Arthur and Agravaine’s conversation. Just before midnight Arthur stood up and started his speech.

A chill in the air made Rose shiver slightly. Everything went silent as everyone got up to toast the king everything felt like it was going slow, she looked into the middle of the room. A woman stood there looking at Merlin.
“Emerys, Emerys, Emerys” said the woman her voice sounded sad and sounded like it was coming from the depths of the earth. Merlin dropped his pitcher of wine, and everyone turned to look at him, Rose felt a sharp pain in her chest and then peace. Merlin fell backwards in a faint as the woman in the middle of the room disappeared. Rose got up and ran over, along with Lancelot. Gaius joined them and did some checks on Merlin who was shivering on the floor.
“Take him to my chambers,” said Gaius.

Lancelot scooped up Merlin and they left the room, Rose noticed the glares she was getting from the nobles at the top of the table, but she ignored it and went with Lancelot, Merlin and Gaius to his chambers. Rose opened doors as Gaius did checks on him on route. Once they got to Merlin’s room, they laid him down.
“What happened?” asked Lancelot.
“I don’t know I have never felt anyone so cold before, I need Hawthorne to stimulate the blood flow,” said Gaius.
“And Blankets, lots of blankets,” said Rose. She took his hand in her hand and rubbed on it hoping to warm him up. Lancelot came back and together they laid many blankets over him and wrapped a blanket around him.
“Hold his nose,” said Gaius. Rose pinched his nose, and he opened his mouth. Gaius poured the potion down his throat.
“Swallow it!” said Rose. He swallowed and they all sighed with relief. She smiled and picked up his hand again and held it in hers. Soon Gaius and Lancelot left the siblings to it. She had no idea why, but she had an empty feeling in her heart.

She concentrated her magic on the connection it wasn’t Morgause anymore. She had a pain in her chest before Merlin fainted maybe Morgause was dead. She was taken out of her thoughts by Merlin groaning she looked down at him he awoke and looked around in a dazed way.
“Are you okay” asked Rose she sat him up and pulled into a hug.
“Yeah I think” said Merlin. They got up and Rose guided him through to the main part of the chambers and over to the bench. Gaius made them all some tea he then sat on the bench next Merlin.
“What happened” asked Gaius.
“A woman came into the middle of the room her eyes were sad and when she spoke it was from the depths of the earth” 9p Merlin.
“Who is she? She appeared after Morgause died” said Rose.
“Morgause is dead? How do you know?” asked Merlin.
“The connection between us, I felt a sharp pain in my heart then peace, the connection has moved on to someone else I don’t who though” said Rose.
“You saw the gate keeper to the spirit world; I believe Morgana tore the veil between the spirit world and our world” said Gaius.

There was a knock at the door all three of them turned around to face the door. Leon walked in looking official.
“Rose, Arthur wants you back at the feast” said Leon.
“I am on my way” said Rose. She ruffled Merlin’s hair on the way out “look after yourself”. She walked with Leon to the feast again, it had got louder than it had been before. She went over to the top table and sat down next to Arthur. A servant poured out some wine and she sipped at it slowly.
“You can’t just get up every time a servant faints” said Arthur in a stern voice.
“He’s not just your manservant he’s my best friend, you can’t stop me from helping him” said Rose.
“You are a lady of the court; you need to start acting like one,” said Arthur.
“Are you telling me if Gwen fainted, you’d leave her on the floor for anyone to step on her” said Rose he stared at her minute before shaking his head “exactly, did Agravaine put you up to this”.
“Yes, off course I wouldn’t leave her on the floor,” said Arthur. Rose shook her head, Agravaine had a dislike for Merlin for some reason and would always give disapproving looks every time he saw her and Merlin doing anything that looked friendly. He also hated the fact she was knight and would try and make excuses as to why she couldn’t go on patrols and missions. The feast went on without much, issues or problems.

The next day Rose woke up around midday, she dressed in her knight’s uniform and went on a hunt to find Arthur. She couldn’t find him, so she went to Gaius’s chambers.
“Hey, have you seen Arthur” asked Rose.
“Oh yeah he’s gone on a patrol with the knights, a village was attacked” said Gaius.
“Why wasn’t I woken up?” asked Rose in a hurt voice.
“Agravaine insisted to leave you” said Gaius. Off course it was down to Agravaine he had no right to insist she stay behind he was so weird around her. If it was up to him, she would sit in the castle and be quiet “read this book, I know it frustrating”. He gave her the book and it was opened on a page.
“I shouldn’t be surprised, he got Arthur to lecture me about running to Merlin’s side last night” said Rose.
“Did he now?” asked Gaius in a stern voice.
“He acts like me being friends with him is an act of treason” said Rose. She started to read the book it was about the veil between the spirit world and the normal world. She carried on reading for the rest of the day until screaming was heard throughout the castle.

They got to work and made the council chambers into a makeshift ward. There were people shouting and screaming as creatures would fly through people and freeze them solid. The creatures looked like skulls and they would vanish when fire was waved at him. She covered person after person up with a sheet at one point she noticed Gwen leave to get more sheets. After about ten minutes she panicked, Gwen should be back by now she made towards the door.
“I’m going to help Gwen out” said Rose.
“Rose don’t” said Gaius after her but she ignored him she ran out the room taking a torch off the wall. She made her way down the corridor and noticed Gwen was at the other end she was knelt over a knight. She ran over as a creature went for her; she felt her heartbeat fast as waved the fire in the face of the creature protecting Gwen.

She covered Gwen and they backed their way back to the ward.
“Are you okay?” asked Rose.
“Yes, thanks for that” said Gwen. They got back to work, and it got the point where it was just Gaius and Rose covering up body after body. She couldn’t believe this was happening, she hoped that Merlin was okay. She kept tapping into one of her connections which was Merlin they were joined by the kinship of being the last dragon lords he was alive. Sometime later they looked up to see Merlin in the doorway he looked so scared. She went over to him and he pulled her in a hug.
“You’ve seen them then, here give me hand” said Gaius. Merlin nodded he pulled away but kept Rose with him, so she was holding his hand. He squeezed it tightly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Rose.
“My magic is useless against them, I’ve tried” said Merlin Gaius approached his distressed ward as he spoke “I have never felt so powerless, when it came for me, I couldn’t breathe, I felt an emptiness, I’m scared”.
“Merlin” said Gaius making it to him he grabbed Merlin’s arms in a comforting manner “this isn’t your fault”.

 After finishing off Merlin walked Rose to her room. She had been struggling with the creatures.
“Can you sit with me for a while” said Rose. Merlin nodded and he came into her chamber. She had stayed in her old chambers not wanting to move all her stuff out of the room, the bed in the anti-chambers was still there. However, Rose mainly slept in Morgana’s old bed. She sat down on her bed and patted the bed next to her. He sat down and she scooted over him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, so her head was leant on his chest. She wrapped her arm around his waisted.
“You worked out who the connection is yet?” asked Merlin. Rose shook her head and yawned; he tightened his arm around her “Sleep”.
“I don’t think I can” said Rose.
“Swefe nu!” said Merlin his eyes flashed gold and at that Rose fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning alone, Merlin must have left after he sent her to sleep. She got up and dressed into simple tunic and trousers, she checked the windowsill no letter from Mordred she gritted her teeth. She then went to Agravaine’s chambers to see if Arthur was there. He was she went over to him and stood next to him. Gaius and Merlin came in a few minutes later. He looked tired maybe he needed a sleeping spell.
“We have experienced 50 dead, maybe more. Maybe more in the lower town” said Agravaine leaning on his chairs.
“Is there anyway of fighting them” asked Arthur.
“Only fire but it doesn’t stop them, it just scares them away” said Rose.

The world changed she was no longer in the Agravaine’s bed chamber she was on a battlefield it was red in the sun. People were dead lying about; a special sword was in a person’s stomach. There was a sound of screaming and crying in the air. Old Merlin walked in front of her.
“Emerys help me please” said the voice that came from her mouth she wasn’t herself; she was Morgana. She was in Morgana’s head, was she asleep, this was a premonition. Morgana had an intense fear of Emerys. She came back to herself painfully she was on the floor she tried to pinpoint where pain was, it seemed to be her knees hurt and her head on the inside though not the outside. The room was noisy, and she opened her eyes but all she could see was red.

Merlin face loomed close to hers it was neckerchief that was red that was blinding her vision. He looked her in the eye before he straightened up. Rose looked around they were standing over her except Merlin who was knelt next to her.
“Are you alright?” asked Arthur.
“Yes, I, ow my head” said Rose wincing putting her hand to her head and she gasped the pain went through her head.
“It’s alright, take deep breaths” said Merlin gently. Arthur asked Gaius what had happened she looked at Gaius with a panicked look it had been magic related.
“I’ll check her over then I’ll let you know, let’s get her to her chambers,” said Gaius. Merlin nodded and gently put his arm around her shoulder and an arm under her knee and picked her up off the floor gently. She wrapped her arm around his neck. She was taken to her room and laid down on her bed.
“What happened?” asked Merlin anxiously.
“Morgana she’s the connection, she knows about Emerys, she doesn’t know your Emerys, but she knows about him” said Rose quickly. She explained to them what she saw.
“It’s alright, she can never find out who Emerys is, are you in any pain,” said Gaius.
“My head and my knees, what happened, I woke up and everything was red,” said Rose.
“You swayed and landed on your knees I caught you before you hit the floor, I looked at your face to see what had happened to you and your eyes glowed gold, so I bent over you,” said Merlin. She took his hand and squeezed it.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“Right, I am going to bring you a strong sleeping draft, you can get some rest,” said Gaius.

They both left the room leaving Rose to stare at the canvas above her bed. She needed to see Morgana and help her. The sleeping draft was delivered to her and she drank it quickly. The sleeping draft was a strong one and she fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning, she checked the windowsill still no sign of Mordred’s letter that concerned her massively in the time since Morgana and Morgause’s escape from Camelot they had a sent a letter to each other everyday and would see each other every so often. She was not used to him not writing to her was he alright, there was the Dorocha out there after all. She punched the wall in frustration and at that her door opened to reveal Arthur with two plates of food.
“Do you have to take your anger out on the wall” asked Arthur.
“Yes, you bought breakfast” said Rose with a confused voice, they sat down at the table, and they ate some breakfast together before they headed to the council chambers, Agravaine, Merlin and Gaius were already there. Both Arthur and Rose looked out the window to see people were gathering.
“They're coming from across the kingdom. They're looking to Camelot for protection” said Gaius in explanation.
“We will give it to them” said Rose and Arthur at the same time.
“We can’t house them all” said Agravaine.
“We have to try,” said Arthur.
“How, we cannot live like this forever, Arthur.

We must find a way to vanquish these creatures” said Agravaine.
“Somewhere in all your books, Gaius, there must be something. All I'm asking for is a way to fight them,” said Arthur.
“I fear the Dorocha cannot be defeated by swords and arrows, sire. If I am right, and the veil between the worlds is torn, then there's only one path open to us. To travel to the Isle of the Blessed and repair it,” said Gaius.
“How do we do that” asked Arthur.
“For the veil to be fixed a blood sacrifice must be done to regain balance to the world” said Rose.
“We ride before nightfall,” said Arthur. He took Rose’s hand and made towards the door. Rose knew his nature he was going to sacrifice himself.
“And who will you sacrifice” asked Gaius. He turned to face the room.
“If laying down my life will spare the people of Camelot, then that is what I must do” said Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes. She looked to Agravaine he smiled, he looked happy about his nephew threatening to die for Camelot. Why was he doing that?
“What do you want me to do?” asked Rose.
“I want you to stay here, look after Camelot and help Gaius, I want you to protect Gwen, Agravaine will look after you, when you are ready you will eventually take the throne,” said Arthur. That wiped the smile of Agravaine’s face, before Rose could protest, Arthur took her from the room.

Rose walked around the castle getting more sheets for the night. She noticed Agravaine leave the castle looking suspicious she followed him. He used a horse and she followed on foot. He was easy to spot in the woods because he was wearing black with a black horse. He got of his horse and tided it too a tree then entered a hovel. Rose snuck after him and waited for someone to speak.
“My lady” said Agravaine.
“My lord, I trust you give me good news tell me” drawled Morgana. Rose mouth fell open in shock she knew he was too good to be true.
“The kingdom is on its knee” said Agravaine.
“How terrible” said Morgana in a sarcastic voice.
“Indeed” said Agravaine happily.
“What of the poor people” asked Morgana again in a false concerned voice.
“More fall every night” said Agravaine. Rose wanted to gasp, he sounded happy about the chaos. He was in much danger as they all were.
“Such a shame” said Morgana. Rose listened to Agravaine tell Morgana all their plans he was a good traitor she would give him that.
“What troubles you” asked Agravaine there was a silence “Morgana”.
“Something the Cailleach said, she mentioned an Emerys, he is my destiny, and he is my doom” said Morgana.

Rose’s heart quickened so she did know about Emerys and he was her doom. Did that mean Merlin was going to end up killing Morgana.
“Morgana, we should be celebrating. Arthur will be dead within the week, leaving the throne open for Camelot's rightful heir” said Agravaine. 
“Something bothers you, speak up,” said Morgana.
“There is only one problem, Arthur has told me Rose is under my responsibility while he is away and she is eventually going to take the throne, Arthur made her knight and she is too friendly with Merlin, she is a nauseating adolescent” said Agravaine. Rose seethed with anger he didn’t even know her, and he didn’t like her.
“Oi she is good and kind and would join me if I asked her to, when I was queen, I made her crowned princess of Camelot, she grew up with Merlin off course they are friends,” said Morgana.
“How do you know she’d join us” said Agravaine.
“One thing, she wouldn’t be still listening at the door, she would have gone to hand you in already,” said Morgana.

Rose knew the game was up and entered the hovel. She went over to Morgana and hugged her tightly.
“I can explain” said Agravaine. Rose felt a pang of sympathy towards him.
“Don’t bother, I understand you lost your sister, and it was Uther’s doing, I too know what it feels to lose a brother,” said Rose.
“Are you on our side” said Agravaine.
“I don’t want her involved with this, she can come to see me, but she can not help you plot, she can assist you here and there, but I don’t want her ending up like me in a hovel fearing for my life” said Morgana. Rose looked Morgana in the face and saw the love and warmth in her eyes. She was still the same Morgana even with messy hair and eye shadow she was just scared and angry. She just wanted to be free.
“I will stick to your wishes,” said Rose. Being the connection between the light and the dark had begun.

Later, on that day Rose watched the knights get ready for their quest it made her feel uneasy the fact they were going to seal the veil between the two worlds and one of them will not be returning. She approached the knights.
“Lancelot, can I have a word” asked Rose. She took his arm and moved him away from the group so they couldn’t be overheard.
“How can I help you Rose,” said Lancelot.
“I want you to keep an eye on Merlin, he may not look it, but he is stronger than he looks but he’s also not good at protecting himself, keep him safe,” said Rose.
“I will keep your brother safe” said Lancelot he went to walk away but she grabbed his arm and kept him there.
“Also, I want you to return safely,” said Rose. She gave him a quick hug before moving back to the knights who were getting themselves ready to go.
“Come to wish us good luck” said Gwaine. 
“I am here to make sure you all look after each other and to say goodbye” said Rose. She hugged the knights in turn before facing them again “goodbye you all need to come back”. After this Arthur and Merlin came to meet them. She hugged Arthur and then she hugged Merlin. They both hugged back tightly. She watched as they set off on their quest. She waved them off before heading to her chambers to process the day’s events and check to see if Mordred at written yet he hadn’t. She wrote him a note before sending it on a raven and laying down in her bed. She fell asleep quickly tired from the day’s events.

The next morning Rose woke up and went across to her window to check to see if Mordred had written but he didn’t. She sighed and went across to her desk to write another letter when she noticed a letter was on her desk. She opened it and stared it. It wasn’t from Mordred it was from Merlin. Her heart dropped into his stomach.

Dear Rose

I couldn’t say this to your face, but I am going to the isle of the blessed and I will take Arthur’s place and give up my life. I am so proud of you. You have grown into such an amazing young lady and a great knight. I know it will be hard for you to lose another brother, but it is worth it for the greater good. Look after Gaius for me and take on my destiny and protect and guide Arthur. I will always be with you; the gods will take care of me.

Your brother
Merlin.

Rose stared at the letter some more her heart feeling heavy in her chest. Merlin was going to sacrifice himself she couldn’t lose someone else. Mordred had stopped writing to her, so she had no update on Ealdor and now Merlin was going to die. Not if she could help it. Rose got changed into her knights’ uniform and packed a few changes of clothes. She checked on everyone in the castle to make it look like she hadn’t vanished into fin air. She wrote a note saying she was going to Ealdor and left it on her desk before shutting her eyes.
 “Aswindan ae Ealdor” said Rose. She felt her usual flying feeling and she landed on the outskirts of Ealdor she looked into the village to see it was quiet, she walked into the village quietly.

The end  

Chapter Text

It was becoming dark and the Dorocha were on the move. She saw a little figure run from Hunnith’s towards Mordred’s house. A Dorocha went towards Kara, she ran over picking up a tree branch on the way and looked at branch “forbearne”. She slowed down time as she got in front of Kara waving the fire at the Dorocha. The Dorocha repelled and Rose picked up Kara and she ran to Mordred’s house. She put her down and looked to Mordred. He was stood there looking tired, but he was alive.
“Rose!” said Mordred she ran over to him and gave him a hug. They hugged each other in an embrace before kissing. She then stood back and slapped his arm.
“You never replied to my letters! I was so worried you had died!” said Rose. She cupped his face staring into his perfect blue eyes then hugged him again. She then stepped back and hugged Kara.

She felt an ice feeling go through her it made her gasp out. She tapped into her connection with Morgana she was fine a bit scared, but she was fine. She then tapped into her connection to Merlin it was he was ice cold and was ill. dying slowly. She winced and hugged Mordred again. They got ready for bed and Rose laid down next Mordred her head on his chest they cuddled up together.
“So, what is your plan?” asked Mordred stroking her hair looking down at her lovingly.
“I will meet the knights on the journey and stop my brother getting himself killed, I fear I am too late” said Rose.
“Do you wish me to join you?” asked Mordred.
“You need to stay here and make sure Kara doesn’t get herself killed” said Rose. She kissed Mordred before turning around and pulling his arm around her further, so he was holding her.

Rose woke up next morning and got herself ready as Mordred watched, they talked. She had gotten so used to changing her clothes around him it was nothing new. She got dressed and got herself ready for the day of travelling. She said her goodbyes to the love of her life and Kara before going on her journey she journeyed throughout the day until she came to some caves she tutted as she saw the princes and the knights horse tied to trees near the cave entrance. She for one was not going to go through the cave and rub yucky stuff on her face.

She got her horse and tide it next to Arthur’s horse. She got her bag put it on her back.
“O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd' hup 'anankes!” said Rose. A few minutes later Kilghara landed in front of her.
“Young one how may I help you” said Kilghara.
“I wish you take me over the white mountains,” said Rose. He bowed his head letting her climb on him. She got herself comfortable before he set off into the sky.
“So, are you on your way to the isle of the blessed” asked Kilghara.
“Yes, I need to find Arthur though,” said Rose.
“There is a fortress that is not too far away from here, I’ll drop you off there” said Kilghara. He landed outside the fortress she dropped down the floor.
“Keep an eye out for Merlin he is planning to sacrifice himself to repair the veil” said Rose he nodded and blew warm air into her face which had its usually smoky smell and calming presence.
“I will young one, look after yourself” said Kilghara. He then flew into the night leaving Rose with her own thoughts. She hunted some food before taking refuge in the fortress, she set up a fire and waited for Arthur and the knights to come.

She sat down by the fire and awoke the next morning. She waited and waited for the rest of the day until she heard noises coming in the fortress, she had been cooking some rabbit stew when she heard. She got her sword ready and stood protectively behind the door. The door opened and her sword met sword before she looked into Gwaine’s eyes. She dropped her sword before they both hugged tightly.                                                                                 “Do I smell cooking?” asked Arthur entering the room he stared at her in shock “Rose”. All the knights came after him she noticed that Lancelot and Merlin were not with them. Her heart sunk as she looked at them.
“Where’s Merlin and Lancelot” said Rose anxiously.
“You have to tell her” said Elyan.

Arthur approached and took her hands in his looking at her gently oh no he was dead wasn’t he. He was hurt and dead and she was too late.
“Merlin was hit by the Dorocha, he survived but he had to be taken to Camelot” said Arthur. Rose sighed sadly and went back to her cooking. They ate the food gratefully but all she could think about Merlin.

She was distracted by a smell of wet socks she gagged and got and sat herself next to Arthur.
“Has something died” said Elyan he also moved to the other side of fire leaving Gwaine on his own.
“Pick on Percival” said Gwaine.
“No, he washes” said Rose.
“What are you doing here anyway, you are meant to be protecting Camelot” said Gwaine.
“I got a note from Merlin telling me he was going sacrifice himself to veil, so I followed you guys a day behind but I managed to use a few short cuts the valley of the fallen kings and I also visited Ealdor on my way which took half a day of the journey” said Rose.
“I am not happy about you putting yourself at risk, but I am happy you are here” said Arthur wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to him.
“How is Mor…” said Gwaine.
“Your socks are on fire” said Rose quickly interrupting him mentioning Mordred.

They heard movement from nearby they all stood up and raised their swords. Lancelot came into view alone Rose felt her heart sink where was Merlin.
“Lancelot, how’s Merlin” said Arthur.
“Bad news” said Lancelot Rose gasped a tear rolling down her face “he’s still alive”. Merlin came walking in like he wasn’t a complete idiot. Rose put her hands over her face and laughed with tears rolling down her face. All the knights hugged Merlin and then Rose ran over and hugged him before hitting him repeatedly on the arm.
“You self-sacrificing idiot, can’t say it to my face, after everything we have been through” said Rose. She stopped hitting him and hugged him tightly again he hugged her back equally as tightly. Soon all the knights fell asleep as Rose, Merlin and Arthur sat up, Merlin and Arthur were leaning against a log as Rose leant against Arthur. She breathed in his smell as she slowly fell to sleep. He had arm around her, stroking her arm gently.
“If you stroke her hair, she’ll fall asleep faster,” said Merlin. Arthur’s hand moved to her hair and a few seconds later she fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning before everyone else did and got herself ready for the day ahead they were so close to the isle of the blessed she decided to get there before the other to talk to Cailleach as a high priestess. She went outside so no one saw her and started on the journey alone she wasn’t got to let anyone die, it had to be another way, Arthur was the once and future king and Merlin was destined to be at Arthur’s side. She got to the isle of the blessed in the afternoon of the day.

She got in the boat and was finally stood in front of the Cailleach she was stood in front of the tare in the world she stood by a stone table. The screaming was louder her. She bowed to her and then straightened up.
“My lady, I was wondering when you would join” said the Cailleach.
“Does the sacrifice have to be a life?” said Rose.
“Yes, a life broke the veil therefor a life must fix it” said the Cailleach.
“I then give my life” said Rose walking forward toward the stone table.
“No, your time amongst men is not over my lady, you have many joys and hardships to come” said the Cailleach. She attempted to move closer, but The Cailleach knocked her back and everything turned black.

Rose came around sometime later the place was brighter, and the veil was gone. She sat up and held her head in her hands. She then looked around Arthur was sitting up nearby she then looked over to Merlin he was facing away from her he was stiff.
“Merlin” said Rose standing up. He turned around and looked at her before running over to her.
“It’s Lancelot he gave his life” said Merlin. He then hugged her tightly she could feel his tremors going through his body. She hugged him tightly.
“It’s alright, it’s alright” said Rose soothingly into his ear.

The journey back to Camelot was a sombre one they had lost a knight and a friend. Merlin was so sad he was heartbroken she could see it in his face. Once she got back to the castle she went to her room and shut the door. She laid down on the bed and cried. She pulled the sheets to her and breathed in the smell of Morgana. She cried harder at the thought of Lancelot being dead, Morgana was Camelot’s number one enemy everything felt crazy. Her whole life now was out of her control she had to go between Morgana and the kingdom like a rule breaker.

She wanted to live her life without feeling like it was already planned for her. She fell asleep eventually and woke up the next morning feeling tired but more in control. She got up and went straight to her mirror her eyes were red and puffy she dressed herself in one of Morgana’s tunic which came to her knees with leggings underneath and her casual boots. She looked herself in the mirror again. There was a knock at her door. She whipped her eyes and cleared her throat.
“Wait a minute” called Rose. She got out the bed and took a few steadying breaths before “enter”.

Arthur walked into the room and looked at her. He was in his knight’s uniform looking serious.
“Come to my room for breakfast” said Arthur in a gentle voice.
“Off course” said Rose her voice was still thick from the tears of the night before. Arthur put his hand out and she took it and they walked to his room. They sat down at his table and ate their food.
“We will do Lancelot’s funeral today,” said Arthur. Rose looked up from her food and looked at Arthur.
“Okay, are we going to burn his uniform and sword, seeing as we don’t have a body” asked Rose.
“Yeah, I thought that might be better, you’ll stand with me during it” said Arthur. Rose and Arthur finished up and went to the throne room to get everyone together outside in the courtyard.
“I want to pay tribute to Sir Lancelot, we owe him a great debt. It is not just his deed that we'll never forget, it's his courage. his compassion, his unselfish nature” said Arthur to the courtyard.

Merlin gave him a torch and he chucked it on to the fire before stand back next to Rose and Gwen “He was the most noble knight I'll ever know. He gave his life for all of us”. Rose had a few tears run down her face. She stepped back a bit so she could stand with Merlin she moved closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she wrapped her arm around his waist and put her head on his shoulder.

After a while people started to leave, Rose and Merlin went to his room and sat down. Merlin sat on a chair and Rose sat down on his bed. Merlin got up suddenly and shut the door a bit.
“We need to talk,” said Merlin.
“I was expecting this,” said Rose.
“This is serious, I woke up and you were gone I was so scared, then we get there and your unconscious, what were you thinking,” said Merlin.

Rose stared at him a minute and then a tear went down her cheek. He saw this and sat down next to her brushing her tear away wrapping her up in a hug.
“I didn’t want you to die, I had the feeling that my destiny is planned, and I have no control of it” said Rose. Merlin hugged her tightly and she hugged back even tighter “I need to tell you something”.

Before she could continue however the door to the main physician chambers opened.
“Gaius” said Agravaine’s voice coming into the chambers.
“How can I be of assistance” asked Gaius.
“You’re a great man of great knowledge and wisdom” said Agravaine.
“Knowledge perhaps,” said Gaius. Rose and Merlin slowly got up and stood by the door listening.
“Have you ever come across a sorcerer named Emerys” said Agravaine. Merlin and Rose both looked at each other in alarm.
“No doesn’t sound familiar” said Gaius in a matter-of-fact voice.
“Well if you do hear mention of the name” said Agravaine.
“I’ll be sure to tell you” said Gaius.
“It won’t go unrewarded” said Agravaine.

They waited for Agravaine to leave and then went through to the main chambers Rose went to the door to make sure Agravaine was gone. He was gone so she shut the door again and put her hand up before Merlin and Gaius could speak.
“forsuwung se dōr” said Rose. Her flashed gold and then she put her hand down, she then explained about Morgana and Agravaine “I was trying to tell you but everything with the Dorocha took it out of my head”.
“I understand you need to keep it up with Agravaine, she can never know who Merlin really is” said Gaius.
“Thing is though, I physically can’t reveal Merlin as Emerys because of the dragon lord kinship, that means we are safe on that one, when I am around her she isn’t so bad, she just is scared and broken and I can fix her, it is part of my destiny to be the connection between the dark and the light” said Rose.
“This must be the start of that part of the destiny” said Merlin wrapping his arm around her and she wrapped her arm around him giving him a squeeze. Things are going to get a lot interesting.

The end

Chapter Text

A month after Lancelot’s death was when things in Camelot seemed to get back to normal. Arthur’s birthday arrived and so did a circus. Rose watched with her head out the window of Arthur’s chambers. She was hiding from Gwen who was wanting to get her to try on a few new dresses and shoes and she wasn’t ready for that yet, so she was hiding in Arthur’s chambers. The jugglers juggled and the fire breathers breathed. Merlin’s head poked out the window over her. One of the jugglers caught all the balls at once.
“Look at that” exclaimed Merlin. Arthur head joined them out the window over Merlin.
“It’s a man throwing stuff in the air,” said Arthur.

They bought their heads out the window and into Arthur’s chambers again. He stood there arms folded glaring at them.
“What’s the matter with you? It’s your birthday, a huge feast is being held in your honour. You've got dancers, jugglers and acrobats to entertain you. It must be a terrible burden,” said Merlin. Rose took an apple from the bowl on the table and sat down on the bed.
“I am not easily entertained” said Arthur.
“I’m looking forward to it” said Rose.
“That’s because you have the mind of a child” said Arthur.
“I am 14, technically I am still a child” said Rose giving a mock offended face.
“Yes, sorry Rose, what are you doing here anyway” said Arthur.
“Am I not allowed to spend time with my guardian on his birthday” said Rose in a sweet voice which made Merlin look up and look across to her.
“Come on then, let’s go for a walk” said Arthur.

Arthur gave her a knowing look, he must know she was hiding from Gwen, he looked highly amused with himself.
“I would rather stay here, help Merlin with his chores,” said Rose.
“If you just humour her it’ll get it done sooner” said Arthur grinning.
“One of the dresses has a corset, do you want your only ward to die” said Rose folding her arms across her chest. There was a knock at the door and before she could hide Gwen came in.
“There you are Rose, come on, it won’t take long” said Gwen marching over to her and grinning at Arthur as she took Rose’s hand and dragged her across the room.
“Come on I have enough dresses” moaned Rose.
“No, you don’t you just keep wearing Morgana’s tunics and dresses and classing that as a dress” said Gwen. Arthur and Merlin roared with laughter as she was finally dragged out of the room kicking and protesting a lot.

Rose was taken to her where the dresses were and sighed. She tried on the dresses one by one and liked them there was a particular dress she loved it was a red dress with short sleeves and on the back, it had the pendragon crest on it.
“I like the red dress and the green dress, I am not so sure of the purple it doesn’t suit me” said Rose.
“I think you should wear this one tonight” said Gwen pointing at the green one “this one I made to for a more special occasion like a coronation” pointing towards the red dress. Rose smiled and gave Gwen a hug.
“Thank you so much” said Rose.

They got ready for the feast before Rose went across to the window and picked her letter from the windowsill and put it under her pillow and shut the window quickly. Night fell and Arthur came to get her for the feast. Uther joined them at the door the banquet room and all three walked in and people stood up for them and bowed. Arthur sat on Uther’s right and Rose sat on his left. Uther seemed happy and they sat together. He kept clinging his cut next Arthur’s and Rose’s goblet.

They smiled at him and then the gleeman of the circus came forwards.
“I need two volunteers” said the gleeman he looked around the room then looked to Arthur and Rose looking at them with a smile she didn’t trust “prince Arthur, what better or more fitting occasion for you to demonstrate your legendary bravery” he then looked to Rose “Lady Rose, what a lovely way to show of your aim and to throw knives at your guardian”. Rose laughed and they both got up nodding. “Off course” said Arthur. Rose went and stood next Gleeman as Arthur spoke briefly to Merlin, he gave Merlin his cloak and went and got tied to the wheel.
“Don’t worry I’ll make sure she doesn’t miss” said Gleeman.
“That’s comforting” said Arthur.

Gleeman shoved an apple in his mouth before the wheel began to spin. Gleeman gave Rose a knife and took her hand they threw it together. It landed in between his hand and his head she laughed at Arthur’s wide-eyed expression she heard everyone cheer, they did it again and it landed between his other hand and head. He was starting to look nauseous.
“The last one will be Rose’s shot, here you go try not to kill your guardian” said Gleeman. Rose looked around to Uther who nodded smiling enjoying the entertainment.

She threw the last knife and it landed in something that was not wood she looked to see it had hit the apple. Rose sighed in relief before moving forward to help the circus people get Arthur off the wheel. There was a lot of cheers and laughter she looked across to Merlin who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Once Arthur was off the wheel he came forward and helped him with his jacket. Gleeman gave Rose an apple for taking part and Arthur and Rose sat down munching down on the apple. As the feast went on Rose started to feel drowsy and tired after certain time, she noticed Uther was equally tired.
“I wish to retire,” said Uther.

Rose nodded at him and her and Gwen helped him up and they took him to his room. They walked him to his chambers. With him in between them, it was sad sometimes seeing him like this the noble king a shell of himself until she was reminded if it wasn’t for him and his magic hating mania, she would have been bought up by her actual mother. They got to the chambers.
“Do you want us to put you in to bed or on the chair” asked Rose.
“The chair please,” said Uther.

They placed him in his chair, Gwen left the room while Rose made sure he was comfortable she made to leave the room, but Uther grabbed her arm “sit with me, pour us a drink please”. She nodded poured out two goblets and sat down on a seat opposite him. She sipped her wine and started to fall asleep. She finished the goblet and put it on the table before falling asleep.

CLANG Rose woke with a start to a sword fight between Arthur and the Gleeman she noticed Arthur was unsteady. He dropped his sword Rose got up and wobbled. Uther pushed her back down and caught the Gleeman’s blow that was about to take off Arthur’s head.
“It will take more than a coward to kill my son!” said Uther. They fought each other with swords everything was getting knocked over in the ciaos.
“Merlin send guards to the kings chambers now” called Rose in her head her voice was slurred.
“What’s happening, I am on my way” called Merlin into her head. She noticed Uther get disarmed and got up and ran over and chucked him his sword before catching the blow meant for Arthur. She fought against and she tripped backwards over the knocked over candle holder. She dropped her sword and her head slumped down the dizziness returning.
“Anything you wish to say before I kill him” said Gleeman she looked up and he was over Arthur again. Uther got up again and disarmed Gleeman quickly with the strength she hadn’t seen him show in so long.

The Gleeman got a dagger out his boot and as Uther stabbed him, she watched the dagger go into Uther’s chest. Rose got up and stumbled over and pulled Gleeman’s dagger out of Uther’s chest. Gleeman slumped dead and Uther stood for a few more seconds.
“Father” said Arthur. He moved forward and caught him, so he was in Arthur’s arms. Rose collapsed and crawled closer them.
“Guards, guards,” shouted Rose.
“Oh no, I’ll go get help,” said Arthur.
“Don’t leave me” said Uther weakly. Rose went to get up, but Uther reached out and took her hand.
“Merlin, guards, knights, anyone hurry up please” said Rose in her head the last mental message was too much, and she fell backwards and passed out.

Rose woke up feeling sick and dizzy like she had done before she passed out. She was confused she was in a soft bed she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times she had Merlin sat at the end. She looked around and saw she was in her chambers. She sat and swatted Merlin on the arm before giving him a quick hug.
“You like to take your time,” said Rose.
“The guards weren’t listening to me; I can’t exactly go Rose has sent me a telepathic message with her magic,” said Merlin.
“What happened, there was a fight and Uther was stabbed that’s all I remember, how long have I been out” said Rose she was trying to remember everything.

She felt like she had been out for ages.
“You have been out since last night and its noon now, Gaius thinks the sedative they gave you was made for a grown adult not a 14 year old, I got Gwaine to come with me, I lied and said I heard a commotion and we arrived Arthur was holding Uther and you were unconscious, I went to get Gaius and while I was gone Gwaine got Uther up on the bed, so when I got there Arthur stood over his father while Gwaine was trying to get you to wake up, Agravaine came not long after and was very worried about you attempted to pick you up but I stepped in and scooped you up” said Merlin.
“That’s because Morgana’s threatened him that if I get hurt then he’s getting her wrath, how is Uther?” said Rose.
“Uther is going to die,” said Merlin. Rose stared at him in shock and before she could say anything Merlin was being called by Arthur. He ran out to find out he wanted, and Rose got out of bed and changed her clothes slowly her whole body ached, and she felt dizzy and sluggish. She looked out the window leaning against the wall. People were gathering around outside to pay respect to Uther. It was so weird she could never imagine Uther dying, it was weird she was half glad and half guilty for feeling glad. She stood there for some time the sun began to set. People bought candles to mourn Uther the man wasn’t even dead yet.

There was a knock at the door which nudged her out of her thoughts. Rose turned to face the door and stumbled she caught her balance and walked closer to the door.
“Enter” said Rose. Agravaine came in looking worried and happy with himself at the same time. She looked at him and he looked at her.
“Want to come with me to tell Morgana the good news” asked Agravaine. Rose nodded and smiled before getting on her druid cloak and putting the hood up. She was wanting to see Morgana she always used to know what to say to make her feel better in general.

They got a horse and decided to share one. Agravaine got on first and then Rose got on behind him “hold on to me I am starting at a canter”. Rose nodded and wrapped her arms around Agravaine’s waist to be fair she would rather wrap her arms around the troll than him, but she wouldn’t say that. He obviously didn’t trust her, yet he was nice to her only to keep up appearances and to keep Morgana sweet. He started at canter, and it made her feel sicker than before she leant her head into his back so she couldn’t see the world blur around her. They got the hovel and Agravaine got down first and helped her down. She had to lean on him a minute to get rid of the dizziness. She stumbled to the hovel, and they walked in.

Morgana turned around and pointed a knife at them.
“Is that anyway to welcome old friends” said Rose smiling at Morgana.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you today, what’s happened,” said Morgana. Rose swayed on the spot and her legs buckled as the dizziness got too much, she got black spots dancing in her vision, time slowed down as Morgana caught her and walked her over to the bed.
“We have good news, better than we could have hoped for” said Agravaine.
“What is it? What’s wrong with her?” said Morgana rounding on Agravaine quickly.
“Uther has been mortally wounded, he’s on his deathbed Gaius says he only has a few days to live, the person was attempting to kill Arthur, so they drugged both Rose and Arthur with a drugged apple, so they were easy to kill, we still don’t know why they wanted Rose dead to” said Agravaine. Rose groaned as she felt a wave a nausea crash over her, she heaved and again time slowed down as Morgana shoved a bowl under her chin.
“Breathe, there now, you’re okay” soothed Morgana.

 She finished and wiped her mouth before laying down on the bed and curling up into herself. Morgana sat on the bed and put a hand on Rose’s shoulder before looking across to Agravaine “I hope the image of my face haunts him, how is Arthur”.
“Devastated, the poor boy can’t think straight” said Agravaine. Coming closer to the bed.
“Then we must strike while he’s vulnerable,” said Morgana. She turned back to face Rose, but Agravaine grabbed her arm.
“When Uther dies, the kingdom will be weak” said Agravaine. Rose groaned again and Morgana wrenched her arm out of his hold and went back to Rose. Rose let herself fall asleep feeling safe with Morgana.

Rose woke up sometime later she was confused, she was cuddled to Morgana who was asleep next to her. She got up and felt ten times better than she had before she looked around the hovel and poured herself some water from a jug and restarted the fire with her magic. Rose then sat on a chair by the fire. Morgana came over a few minutes later and sat her chair next to her so she could wrap her arm around her.
“Are you feeling better? You have been unconscious for the last day or so” asked Morgana kissing the top of the head.
“Much better thank you,” said Rose.
“The sedative made you ill, I am glad you’re feeling better,” said Morgana. Rose leant her head on Morgana’s shoulder.
“I miss you” said Rose honestly.
“This won’t be forever,” said Morgana. They sat like that for a while until Agravaine came in looking flustered and angry.
“My ladies” said Agravaine looking happy for a second Rose shuddered at the thoughts that he was probably having in his head. She looked at him and nodded back at him “Arthur has gone to consult a sorcerer; he intends to use magic to heal Uther”.

 Rose got up and walked towards the door feeling annoyed. Arthur can’t call magic evil and bad then in the next breath use it when it suited him.
“I am going to go shout at Arthur,” said Rose. She left the hovel and walked back to Camelot, she went to Gaius’s chambers and saw it was just the physician “please tell me Agravaine’s wrong, please tell me he isn’t using magic to save Uther”.
“Unfortunately, it is true, Merlin is going to use the aging spell,” said Gaius. Rose sighed and sat down on the bench; Rose told him where she had been when she was away.
“Arthur shouldn’t have told Agravaine anything,” said Rose.

They sat there and waited until finally the door opened and Merlin came. Rose let out a breath of relief before getting up.
“Merlin we were worried, we thought something had happened,” said Gaius. Merlin gave them a grin before running up the steps up to the library area of the chambers.
“It went to plan, apart from Arthur thinking I have something really wrong with my bladder” said Merin happily. Rose glared at him this was dangerous. Arthur would behead him in a heartbeat if it went wrong.
“Please tell me you’re not going through with this, what if your exposed,” said Rose.
“If I heal Uther, Arthur has given me his word that when he is king, he’ll bring magic back,” said Merlin. 

He looked at Rose went down the stairs looking at like he had only just seen her properly he then put his hands on his shoulders “where have you been for the last day or so, Agravaine said you were hunting but I know for a fact you weren’t well enough to randomly go off hunting”.
“I went to see Morgana, had a reaction to the sedative in the apple and she looked after me, I am fine now, Arthur told Agravaine about using magic” said Rose she then looked him up and down “Don’t change the subject, what if something goes wrong, his opinion of magic will change forever”.
“We live the risk every day, I have got to take this chance, everyone is always telling me I have this great destiny maybe this is,” said Merlin.
“Okay, do what you think is best,” said Rose. She made her way towards the door “I am going to get changed and see Arthur then I’ll come back”.

Rose went to her room and drew herself a bath. She had spent a day or so in hovel she couldn’t go to Arthur all dirty. She cleaned herself and her hair before getting out the bath and changing into one of Morgana’s tunics and leggings. She wrote to Mordred quickly before heading to find Arthur, but she couldn’t find him, so she went to see Gaius. He was alone again she looked at him in disbelief.
“He’s gone to heal Uther,” said Gaius. She sat down on a spot on the floor near the steps and sighed she wished she had been able to help him sort out a proper healing magic for him. 

It should have been her doing the spell she was a lot more skilled at healing than he was. She read a few pages of a book before she started to feel it, a pain in her body. It started with a tingling under her skin. Then it was in her chest, and she felt it a loneliness and sadness a sense of loss and betrayal, the woman bought up as daughter betrayed him. She let out a gasp and clutched her chest, gasping for breath.
“Gaius” gasped Rose. He was at her side in a shot and got on to the floor next to her. Taking her hand and wrapping an arm around her back.
“Breathe in deeply, you’re going to be okay, tell me what’s wrong,” said Gaius. She had a magic surge go through her it hurt it hurt so bad.
“Uther’s feeling pain, somethings going wrong” said Rose before screaming as another jolt went through her.
“It’s alright breathe through it” said Gaius he let go of Rose and got up. He went across to his bench and got a cloth and put some potions on to it. He then got next to her again. The pain died down and all she was left with peace.

Gaius put the cloth to her face it had smelt of lavender.
“Uther’s dead,” said Rose. She gasped the rest of the magic out and felt emotional and weak. There was a knock at the door and they both got up slowly. Rose faced away from the door as Gaius told the person to enter.
“We need you at the royal chambers immediately,” said a guard.

They walked to Uther’s chambers and she went straight over to Arthur taking his hand he squeezed her hand tightly, standing on his right and Gwen stood on his left. He looked devastated and sad. The king laid dead in his bed. It felt so weird she had felt him die why had she felt him die. She watched as Gaius checked him over and shut his eyes. He looked up to face Arthur at the other side of the bed.
“I am sorry Arthur; the king is dead” said Gaius. She looked up to look at Gaius and saw Merlin stood in the doorway. He looked shaken and upset. Gaius put the sheet over Uther’s head in respect.

Rose left the room and went to her chambers. She took a goblet from the table and chucked it against the wall. Why had she felt his pain? Why had she felt him die? Why was she sorry for ever hating him or wanting him dead? It was his fault it was all his fault. She should be happy he is dead but all she could think of how he died in pain and feeling alone and betrayed. She chucked another cup at the wall and picked up a chair and chucked that against the wall. She hated that man he ruined her life and all she felt was anger.

He was dead and all she could feel was sorry for him and confused. Someone entered the chambers as she picked up another chair to chuck at the wall.
“Stop that” said Merlin. He ran over to her and took the chair of off her and then pulled her into his arms “come with me”. He took her hand, and they went to the lower part of the castle. They sat down on the floor by the stairs.
“Is Arthur in there with Uther” asked Rose.
“Yeah, come here, what’s wrong” said Merlin.

He pulled her on to his lap and she leant her head on his shoulder.
“I felt Uther die” said Rose.
“Morgana probably felt him die to then, she somehow managed to get a necklace on Uther that reversed the effects of my healing spell, he hates magic forever now” said Merlin in a whisper in her ear.
“Agravaine, it’s got to be, I should have intercepted the necklace I am sorry” said Rose quietly.
“It’s not your fault, you put yourself at risk enough by going to see her” said Merlin tightening his arm around her.
“The more I visit her the better, so I can stop things for happening,” said Rose.

They both went silent and sat and waited for Arthur to come out the room. The door opened and the morning sun came in through the door hitting the wall.
“Merlin, Rose” said Arthur they both got up and faced him. She went over to Arthur and gave him a quick hug before standing next to him “It’s a new day, have you been here all night”.
“We didn’t want you feel alone,” said Merlin.
“You’re both loyal friends,” said Arthur. He took Rose’s hand and held it. Her stomach growled and both the men looked at her with an amused look Arthur shut the door to the room with Uther in “you must be hungry” he smiled at them both.
“Starving” said Merlin.
“Me too, come on you two” said Arthur.

He started to climb the stair taking Rose with him and Merlin followed behind them. Taking on the role as the servant again “you can make all three of us some breakfast”. They went to Arthur’s chambers and ate breakfast together.
“This is nice, thank you Merlin, I could make you my maid” said Rose. Giving Merlin a wink and smiling to him.
“No, he stays my servant, I need him” said Arthur suddenly. He then stood up and finished the water in his cup “right, I need to get ready, Rose you also need to get ready, you are not attending my coronation looking like a mini Morgana”. Rose smiled and nodded before getting up and leaving the room. She found Gwen on her way to her chambers and they went to her chambers.
“I think you should wear the red dress today” said Gwen.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea” said Rose.

Gwen helped her into the dress and did her hair down her back she looked in the mirror. She looked older in the dress which was interesting she turned around and it looked good as she spun. She put on some red shoes. Rose couldn’t believe what was going on it was so weird; she was going to become the kings ward. Arthur was going to be king which meant she had to make sure she worked more at her destiny to get Gwen on the throne and to stay the link between light and dark also known as Merlin and Morgana. There was a knock at the door, and she went to the door and opened it to see Arthur stood there.
“It is time” said Arthur. He put his arm out and she linked it.

They went to the throne room and waited for people to line up in rows. Finally, everyone was in positions and they walked in. People bowed as they walked past. Once they got to the front Rose moved to stand on the right on the front row. Arthur knelt in front of the throne while Geoffrey stood next to him.
“Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the peoples of Camelot according to their respective laws and customs,” said Geoffrey.
“I solemnly swear so to do,” said Arthur. Rose noticed his back was tense she could tell he was nervous.
“Will you, to your power, cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgements,” said Geoffrey.
“I will” said Arthur.

Geoffrey lifted the crown in his hands and lowered it on to Arthur’s head in a very dramatic fashion. Did all these ceremonies have to be so pompous.
“Then by the sacred law vested I crown you Arthur, king of Camelot,” said Geoffrey. Arthur stood up and turned to face the room. Was she meant to go stand next to him or stay in line? She didn’t know so decided to stay put until Arthur looked at her pointedly. She went over and stood on his right he took her hand.
“Long live the king” shouted Agravaine.  The whole room was then filled the chorus of long live the king and she loved it. Arthur still looked nervous, but he seemed to be enjoying it to. 

The end

Chapter Text

Being the king's ward was a lot more than smiling at his side and hoping for the best. No, it was a lot of following Arthur around or walking alongside him. She had to stand on the right until he had a queen because she was the highest women of the court until a queen was sorted out. Being around Merlin was now seen as a bad thing. She didn't care about that she would still spend time to him. She would make a point of seeing him because it didn't have to change that much as prince regent, he was still running the country. Being king was the same and only with a crown and more status and being king for a month didn't mean she wasn't going to just stop seeing her brother just because he was a servant. She would sneak out the castle every so often to visit Morgana, but it was never enough to her.

Rose was laid in Merlin's room on the floor her head in a book asleep, Merlin had put a blanket over her but left her there. Merlin was in his bed asleep. There was a knock at the door which woke up them up. Rose sat up and rubbed her eyes. She went across to the door and saw Gaius stood at the door.
"Hello Gaius, surely you remember me" said the man at the door.
"Only too well, why are you here" said Gaius he sounded stern whoever was at the door Gaius didn't like very much.
"Please, I could do with drying myself by your fire," said the man.

He entered the chambers and moved himself toward the fire he looked soaking wet. He looked like a tired man. He looked at the door that both Merlin and Rose were watching them from. They moved back not wanting to be revealed to be snooping.
"You have a nerve coming back here. You left me in a lot of trouble," said Gaius.
"Yeah. Yeah, sorry about that. What can I say? Execution...didn't really appeal to me. Don't pretend you supported Uther," said the man.
"Tell me why you're here" demanded Gaius. He must get tired of people blaming him for staying in Camelot and loyal to the king.

It must have upset him to see people he knew die or be banished but he stayed loyal to the crown even though he had magic. He lifted a metal thing from his bag and gave it Gaius.
"Save your eyesight Gaius, it's the Triskelion of Ashkanar," said the man. Rose looked to Merlin who looked confused. She had read about it during her schooling it was rumoured to have a dragon egg in. "You are sure," said Gaius.
"I'm certain," said the man. Gaius investigated the triskelion looking at it in his hands. She wanted to go out and look at it but decided against it.
"It's in a druid tongue. The bind runes are in threes. That's rare," said Gaius.
"Oh, I can save you the trouble.

They guide the bearer to the Tomb of Ashkanar. Yes, we both know the legend. We both know what he hid there," said the man. He looked past Gaius again and looked at them both. They moved back again.
"A dragon's egg, and you have come to steal it" said Gaius.
"I wouldn't say steal" said the man defensively.
"You're forgetting one thing; you're missing a part of the Triskelion" said Gaius he turned around and looked at the bedroom before looked at the man again.
"Oh, no. I know where that bit is," said the man. Both siblings moved closer to the door to listen to where it was.
"Where?" asked Gaius. The man looked down dramatically.
"They are in the vaults beneath your feet," said the man.
"In Camelot," said Gaius. Rose rolled her eyes no Gaius in the vaults beneath your feet in Mercia or the vaults beneath your feet in Cenred's kingdom.
"Where it has lain safe and secure for the last four hundred years" said the man.
"And you want me to help you to get it," said Gaius.
"We would bring this noble creature back to life," said the man.

Rose sniggered before putting her hand over her mouth. The man didn't have the power to bring back the dragon, he was a bit of an idiot. Apart from the fact he had found the other elements of the Triskelion.
"I want no part of your plan," said Gaius.
"You don't want to release the last living dragon," said the man. He didn't know about Kilghara being alive and she smiled. He would love it if another dragon was flying around, he must be so lonely. Gaius kicked the man out of his chambers quickly and he left telling him he was staying at the tavern. Both Rose and Merlin went down into the main chambers.
"I'm going to bed" said Rose yawning. She left the chamber and put the hood up of her cloak. She left the castle and went to the clearing before calling Kilghara. He landed in front of her.
"Hello Rose, you called, oh young warlock hello" said Kilghara.

Rose turned around saw Merlin was stood behind her looking amused.
"Do we need to add mind reading to your abilities" asked Merlin.
"No, I don't want in your mind," said Rose. Merlin smiled and looked at her. He then told Kilghara what was said.
"Until now, I believed the egg would never be found, that I would be the last of my kind" said Kilghara looking happy.
"So, the legend is true?" asked Rose.
"This is a chance in a thousand, Rose, Merlin. You must retrieve the egg" said Kilghara. Merlin looked guilty and conflicted.
"I know" said Merlin in a tense voice.
"Then what is the matter" said Kilghara sounding serious.
"Gaius has forbidden me from doing it" said Merlin.
"I'll do it then; he isn't my guardian" said Rose.
"Merlin! You are a Dragon lord! It is a gift passed down from your father, that you share with your sister. He gave up everything in his life to save me. What do you think he would say? The egg harbours the last of my kind. I beg you, Merlin. In your father's name, promise me that you will do everything in your power to rescue it" said Kilghara. Merlin gave him a determined look and took Rose's hand.
"We promise we'll do whatever it takes" said Rose and Merlin at the same time. After speaking to Kilghara they went their separate ways and went to bed. Rose was going to make sure she would do whatever it took to help her dragon friend. She wasn't taken seriously as a knight, or the kings ward why not do something as a dragon lord.

The next morning Rose awoke extra early and got changed into one of Morgana's tunic's and leggings wearing a knight's cloak over it. She stood at her window and watched the lower town as she saw Merlin go into the tavern. Rose rolled her eyes and went across to the mirror she tied her hair in a ponytail before going to her table to see if there was anything on the schedule that day. She left the room and went to Arthur's chambers for breakfast. She knocked and entered and sat at the table while Arthur was dressing behind the screen.
"Do you know why Merlin would be looking for woodworm" asked Arthur coming out from behind the screen dressed.
"No idea, he is a bit odd to be fair," said Rose.
"I woke up this morning with him staring at me from over there" said Arthur pointing to where he normally keeps his keys "I am like what the hell and he's like woodworm". Rose laughed so Merlin first attempt of stealing his key had failed. Rose rolled her eyes; she was going to use her magic to open the doors it looked less suspicious than the key. He might as well be holding a sign saying it was me.
"What are we doing today then?" asked Rose.
"Today you have no jobs, so we can do some knights training, I know you haven't had chance the last few weeks, meet you down on the training field," said Arthur. After breakfast they left the chamber, Rose went to the training ground and Arthur went for a meeting.

The rest of the day Rose did training on the training ground. She floored a few of the round table knights except Percival she hadn't managed to flatten him yet. She also did an archery and crossbow session. As evening fell, she went to the vaults under the Camelot and the guards were protecting them as usual. They hadn't seen her yet, so she stood to the side.
"awefecung" whispered Rose. Her eyes glowed gold and the guards all fell asleep. She moved forward and stood in the room. She looked around and then shut her eyes focussing on the magic of the last triskelion she felt it in the vault at the end she ran down "Tospringe". The door of the vault went flying from the cage and she went in and got the box with the Triskelion and picked it up. She waited for her to be joined. Merlin and Borden came in and looked around.
"Rose, you are fantastic," said Merlin.
"There are benefits of being the kings ward," said Rose. Borden looked at her with interest "come on let's go".

Holding up the Triskelion. They left the room and they scaled around the wall avoiding the guards. They opened the door and were about to go through it.
"Thanks" said Borden.
"Anytime" said Rose and Merlin at the same time.
"Are you good at lying Merlin," said Borden.
"When I have to," said Merlin. Borden then knocked Merlin out and then looked at Rose with a glare in his eye. She went down on to her knees to check on Merlin, worried he was seriously hurt.
"Well you're going to have to be, you my lady are coming with me" said Borden before she could protest, he knocked her out as well and everything turned back.

Rose woke up sometime later and it was dark, she felt her headache slightly and she was irritated. She was laid on the forest floor by a fire, her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were tied together. She sat up and saw that Borden was looking at her.
"You do know I would have come with you willingly, please untie me," said Rose.
"It's hard to know who to trust, no I won't untie you; you might change your mind," said Borden. She rolled her eyes at him.
"I got the Triskelion for reason; I want to see a dragon," said Rose.
"So, the kings ward and you have magic how does that work," said Borden.
"Simple, I haven't told him, at least untie my hands, my hands are going numb," said Rose.

Borden looked at her and she looked at him and he untied her wrists. She moved her arms forwards and clapped her hands a few times, quietly to get the blood flow back in her hands again. She then crossed over arms over her chest "thank you, again why kidnap me".
"You had the Triskelion and you're the kings ward, if he was to pursue me, I have something to get him to stop," said Borden. Rose rolled her eyes and looked into the fire. At least being with him she could make sure no harm came to the dragon. She laid down again and pulled her cloak around herself.
"Does Arthur even know you have me," said Rose.
"Not yet, but he'll work it out, get some rest," said Borden. She fell asleep, wondering what was going on in Camelot.

Over in Camelot the sun was rising, and Merlin came around he looked around him before getting up, his head ached as he got up and picked up the key. First things first put the key back then check to see if Rose was in her room. Merlin went to Arthur's chambers and went to put the key back with the belt. He knocked over a cup which went flying over the bed he bolted over Arthur's sleeping form and used magic to catch the goblet. He got the goblet and straightened up as Arthur woke up.
"Merlin? What are you doing?" said Arthur jumping backwards.
"Shh" said Merlin tapping on the wall and pretending to be listening for woodworm. Arthur gave him an incredulous look "I'm listening for woodworm"
"I am seriously getting concerned with you" said Arthur, the warning bell then sounded distracted Arthur completely "what the hell is that". Merlin got him dressed in a hurry and they went to find out where the emergency was. It was in the vaults under Camelot.

They went down and stood in the vault with the broken door. Arthur sent guards to get Rose and Gaius. Gaius came punctually but Rose was still nowhere to be seen.
"The door was flown off its hinges, from the looks of it with magic" said Agravaine.
"That's interesting" said Gaius looking at Merlin directly.
"With all the jewels and treasure why take just one thing" said Arthur looking in the empty box with a curious look. He then looked around the vault "where is Rose? I sent for her when I sent for Gaius".
"She wasn't in her chambers or in the physian's chambers," said the guard.
"Get a group and look for her" said Agravaine shortly. The guard bowed and left the vault. Arthur looked across at Gaius.
"What was in here," said Arthur.
"I believe, Sire, one third of a Triskelion, a type of key. A key that, according to legend, opens the ancient Tomb of Ashkanar," said Gaius.

Arthur turned to face him frowning. Merlin was looking around how was he meant to be like yeah by the way Rose may or may not have been taken by the man that stole the Triskelion.
"I remember my father talk of such a tomb. It contained a dragon's egg," said Arthur.
"It has been said," said Gaius. The guards that had been sent to search for Rose came back this time with Gwen looking concerned.
"You don't believe it to be true?" said Arthur.
"Well, it is possible, Sire. The wealth and wisdom of Ashkanar are without equal" said Gaius.
"Is the egg still there?" asked Agravaine.
"I can't be certain. But, to my knowledge, no one has disturbed the tomb for more than four hundred years" said Gaius sending a glare at Merlin again.

Agravaine looked up and noticed the guards and Gwen standing in the doorway.
"Have you found Rose yet?" asked Agravaine.
"She hasn't been seen since last night" said Gwen.
"Was she due a trip to Ealdor" asked Gaius, he looked at Merlin and raised his eyebrows at him.
"No, she usually goes in the morning and Gwaine went with her last time for protection, Merlin when did you last see her" asked Arthur.
"I saw Rose heading towards the vaults last night, but I didn't think anything of it" said Merlin. Arthur stared at him and then looked at the other people in my room.
"Whoever has taken the Triskelion has taken Rose" said Arthur with realisation dawning on his face. "It would seem that way yes," said Gaius.
"I will head out and destroy the egg and get Rose back, and never let her leave my sight again" said Arthur leaving the vaults.

Rose and Borden were in the woods. They were travelling he used a horse and he had insisted of laying her over the horse because what hostage sits on a horse. She was developing a bruise from laying across the horse for too long and it was starting to ache.
"This is getting tedious" said Rose lifting her head up and looking at her captor with an angry look he ignored her and carried on before stopping and making camp. He helped her off the horse and put her down by the wood.
"Start the fire" said Borden.
"A bit hard tied up" said Rose in irritation.
"I know you have skills that mean you can do it without your hands" said Borden. Rose rolled her eyes and her eye flashed gold. The fire sprung to life.
"Untie my hands" said Rose.

He did so and she wiggled her fingers. As Borden was going through his bag Rose silently tore a bit of her cloak and left it on the ground by the fire. After they ate, they went back on their journey and travelled until it became dark. Rose recognised the area as the place near where Balinor died. She sat quietly by the fire and made shapes in the flames.
"You seem sad," said Borden.
"Maybe it's because you have me tied up" said Rose grumpily.
"Come on its just us two" said Borden.
"It was around here the last time I saw my father, he died, I didn't know he was my father until it was too late" said Rose quickly hoping it would get him to drop it and leave her alone.

He gave her a sympathetic look.
"I know how it feels to watch a parent die, it's not fun" said Borden awkwardly. They sat in silence before he put out the fire. He messed about in his bag again and Rose ripped up more of her cloak and left it on the ground, she tore up another pointed it East "we need to keep moving, your king will be after my head". He helped her up and again put her over the horse, she grunted at the pain in her stomach, he tied her hands together again.
"I told you before, stop tying me up," said Rose. He again ignored her, and they went on at a gallop that hurt her stomach more. They stopped at a cave and he helped her down.
"We have to leave the horse" said Borden.
"Untie my legs then, I doubt you'll want to carry me" said Rose. He looked around and as he was distracted Rose ripped up more of her cloak with her hands tied up. He cut the bounds on her leg's and she dropped her scrap of cloak at the front of the cave. She hoped they were getting the signal that she was leaving them otherwise her poor cloak would by ruined for no reason. They walked through the cave and it ended with a waterfall.

They walked through the waterfall and got completely soaked. They walked up a mound and, in the distance, they saw a tower. They got a gorge part and got to the top of it. He pushed her over quickly.
"Oi" shouted Rose.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you using your cloak to get your men to follow you!" said Borden he stood over her and tied her feet up she attempted to kick him "stop struggling or I'll shoot your manservant friend with a crossbow where he stands" She looked around and saw that the knights and Merlin were walking up towards them in the distance. Rose stopped struggling not wanting Merlin to be a target.

He tied her legs together and he then waited for them to enter the gorge.
"Watch out!" shouted Rose at the same time Percival was hit by the arrow by the crossbow in the leg, Borden then shot the arrow at Arthur it missed him and then another was aimed at Percival.
"Where is he shooting from" asked Merlin in her head.
"The left of the gorge" said Rose into Merlin's head. Borden's crossbow went flying out his hands and he got up and picked Rose up and ran. She wasn't having this she struggled against him and headbutted him in the head. He dropped her and ran away. She winced and went back in the direction of the knights.

She hopped as her ankles were tied together still. She saw Arthur was going through the trees stealthily. Merlin ran past him quickly.
"Careful" said Arthur he ran forward and pulled Merlin to be with him behind a tree.
"I can get around that" protested Merlin pointing to the bush he nearly headbutted in his speed.
"He knows we are following them, who knows what he's left waiting for us," said Arthur. Merlin attempted to run again but he was stopped by Arthur. Rose jumped closer to her guardian and brother hoping she would get to them quicker.
"That's a risk we are must take, he has Rose, who knows what he is doing to her," said Merlin. She jumped closer and coughed to get their attention.

They looked up and Arthur ran towards her. He cut the bonds around her ankles and hands. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he wwrappedhis arms around her shoulders. She then pulled away to face Merlin.
"Not a lot you see Merlin it's called stealth you should try it" said Rose he moved forward and hugged her tightly she hugged back. She was greeted by all the knight's and they went and made camp together. Merlin cooked the food while Rose sat with knights.
"How did you escape" asked Gwaine with interest.
"I head butted him," said Rose.
"Impressive, so how did you end up being kidnapped in the first place" said Gwaine punching her arm in a friendly way, she did it back. She looked around the circle to see everyone was looking at her with interest, except Percival was inspecting his own leg. She thought about it quickly before thinking of the easiest explanation.
"I heard a noise in the vaults, and I assumed the guards would be there to back me up, but they had been knocked out, Borden knocked me out, I have been ripping my cloak to lead you to us" said Rose.

Everyone in the circle looked impressed with her.
"We noticed, good job with that one, however that tunic has got to go, it'll make good kindling" said Arthur laughing at his joke. Rose looked down at her tunic it was a bit dirty and she probably smelt but it didn't to be burnt, it was a good tunic.
"What's my tunic ever done to you" said Rose jokingly.
"It makes you look like a mini Morgana" said Gwaine.
"Yeah but if I do this, I look exactly like Merlin" said Rose. She scraped her air back held it to the back of her head. They all laughed and nodded at that. She let her hair down and put some of it over her shoulder "I'll have Gwen do my hair when we get back, I know it's a mess, Morgana liked to…"

Rose stopped talking and got up "I am going to get some firewood" heading into the wooded area to get some wood. She felt good because the knights seemed happy with and taking her seriously, but she had nearly just spoke positively about Morgana. She wanted to just not accidentally nearly speak highly of her. The betrayal was still Arthur's head. Merlin came and found her and picked up some wood.
"You alright" asked Merlin.
"Yeah I nearly slipped up about Morgana, so I decided to leave for a while" said Rose.
"Don't worry about it, Arthur's worried he's upset you" said Merlin.
"I am adjusting, he's been king for a month and its all stand on the right and don't be friends with a servant" ranted Rose.

They carried on collecting the firewood and then went back camp all the knights and the king were asleep.
"Come on tell me it's salty" tutted Merlin. He picked out a mushroom out the pot and smelled it. A gasping filled the air Rose looked at Arthur who was gasping for breath she then looked around the other. Merlin got up and ran across to Arthur and healed him. Rose went to Percival and healed him. They healed all the knights, but they were all asleep "I'll go save the egg, you look after the knight". Rose nodded and sat down remaking the fire. She sat by the fire watching the knights for the rest of the night they didn't start to wake up until the sun was coming up.

Arthur woke up first and touched his head.
"What happened" asked Arthur. Rose ran over to him and helped him to sit up.
"Borden, he put a drug in the food to send you all to sleep," said Rose. She then helped him to stand he swayed slightly so she stood firm as he leant against her, after a few deep breaths her got his bearings. All the other knights woke up and came to stand with them.
"Where is Merlin" asked Arthur.
"He went to stop Borden," said Rose.
"He did what everyone with me," said Arthur.

They all packed up camp and got their stuff together before heading towards the towers as they got to the edge of the trees and the tower fell to the ground Merlin was at the edge of the trees.
"What the hell happened" asked Arthur.
"The tomb was a trap, he set it off, he never got out" said Merlin.
"Good, stupid man" said Rose. He looked at him hoping to get an inkling from him if the egg was okay. He looked at directly and looked at his bag. The egg was safe, they were going to end up saving the dragons a step at a time.
"What about the egg" said Arthur.
"It would have perished with him" said Merlin shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.
"Nothing would survive that" said Leon.

They travelled back to Camelot and once they were there. Rose got of her horse and gave it to a servant before heading inside. She went to her chambers and saw that Gwen was looking out her window.
"Hello Gwen," said Rose. Gwen turned around smiling she ran across to her and gave her hug, she squeezed her tightly.
"I was so worried," said Gwen.
"I am good, I am in need of a bath though" said Rose, Gwen pulled away and nodded before getting ready to sort her bath out. After a long bath and a hair wash, she managed to get her hair getting neat again. She was helped into her night clothes.

She dismissed Gwen for the night before putting on her druid cloak and leaving the room. She put her hood up so she wasn't seen. She walked to the clearing where they would usually meet Kilghara. Merlin had got there first and he had the egg sat in front of her dragon friend. She walked forward and stood next to Merlin. He turned to face her and smiled.
"Is it still alive" asked Merlin.
"Dragon eggs can live for thousands of years" said Kilghara. Rose stood excitedly feeling the excitement go through her.
"So, you are no longer the last of your kind" said Merlin happily.
"it would seem not" said Kilghara.
"When will it hatch," said Rose.
"Young dragons were called into the world by the dragon lords, only they can summon them from the egg" said Kilghara he looked down at them happily "As the last two dragon lords the duty falls to you two".
"How do we summon it" asked Merlin.
"You must give the dragon a name" said Kilghara.

They both stood there for a few minutes before Merlin nodded, he had come up with a name she was happy for him to name the dragon. She nodded back at him and he took her hand and lifted his other hand pointing at the egg.
"Aithusa" said Merlin. The dragon egg began to crack, and they stared at it with wonder. A white dragon came out the egg, tears formed in her eyes with joy. She looked to see that Merlin was doing the same.
"A white dragon is, indeed, a rare thing...and fitting. For in the dragon tongue, you named him after the light of the sun. No dragon birth is without meaning" said Kilghara. Merlin wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulder, and she wrapped her arm around his waist, and they smiled at the white baby dragon.
"What does this mean?" said Rose.
"Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear. The white dragon bodes well for Albion, for you both, Gwen and Arthur, and for the land that you will all build together" said Kilghara.

The end.

Chapter Text

It had been two months since Aithusa hatched and Rose had visited the little dragon every time she went on a hunting trip, she was growing well. Rose was with other knights, and she was preparing Merlin to look like a knight. There had been bandits for Carleon's kingdom causing issues and they were luring the bandits to where they can be captured and bought to justice.
"Arthur are you sure it's safe" said Rose straightening Merlin's cloak.
"For the 100th time it has an element of risk, but he'll be fine" said Arthur rolling his eyes at her. Rose gave him a sword which Arthur took of him.
"He needs a weapon," said Rose.
"No, he doesn't," said Arthur.
"What kind of knight doesn't have a weapon," said Merlin.
"Well, you aren't a knight are you" said Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes there was so much risk in this plan and they were going to use Merlin because he was a servant therefore, he had less value to go over to the enemy and let himself get chase down.

Merlin gave her one of his goofy smiles before running into the distance.
"And I thought Rose looked short in a knight's uniform" joked Gwaine. Rose laughed and they all took their positions in the gorge area. She had a crossbow and stood next to Arthur. Soon the red dot of Merlin came running back in the distance and he was being chased by bandits. He came running into the gorge he tripped, and an axe got thrown at him and it narrowly missed him, Rose raised her cross bow, but Arthur gave her a look, she stayed in position. He got up and went to the edge of the gorge looking up. The leader of the group came forward looking triumphant.
"Trapped are we" asked the man.

Rose recognised him as Carleon himself he was rough around the edges and looked like a soldier rather than a king. They sent some arrows down and they looked up.
"That's the idea" stated Merlin.
"On me," shouted Arthur. He jumped down into the gorge taking down a few people on his way down. They started the battle and Rose noticed Carleon was attempting to get to Merlin. She ran across to him as he reached Merlin, he caught his sword with the axe before losing his balance. Rose got to them and got between the man servant and the rough king. She fought against him and soon got the upper hand, and his sword flew from his hand Agravaine caught it.

The battle was soon over, and the bandits were rounded up. Agravaine and Rose had Carleon between them he was not coming quietly so at times they were dragging him across the ground.
"Your majesty look, who we have here" said Agravaine.
"We'll sort him out with the others," said Arthur.
"This is no ordinary prisoner Arthur," said Rose. She pushed him against a tree and ripped off his necklace and gave it to Arthur he looked at it and recognition went across his face.
"Well, well, well" said Arthur.
"What is it" said Merlin.
"This, Merlin is the seal of Royal Carleon, isn't that right, your highness" spat Rose.

She hated that man according to Cenred it had been him that had killed the father that had bought her up. She helped Agravaine give him to one of the other knights, before walking around with Arthur was camp was set up as night fell.
"This isn't the first time he's trespassed on our land" said Arthur to both Agravaine and Rose.
"No, Arthur, only last week he seized the village of Stonedown on the western borders" said Rose they sat down by the fire looking over at Carleon he glared back at them.
"We're not on the borders now, This is the heart of the kingdom. He took a grave risk coming here" said Arthur.
"Perhaps he doesn't see it that way. I fear it's no coincidence that all this has happened since Uther's death" said Agravaine.

She looked at him and he looked at her giving her a knowing look, he was attempting to make Arthur feel unconfident and under prepared.
"What are you saying?" asked Arthur defensively.
"Arthur, your father was a strong king. His enemies feared and respected that strength" said Agravaine. She wanted so badly to reassure Arthur, but she knew as soon as she went against Agravaine he would try and tell Morgana she was going against them. Being the link between the dark and the light had its challenges.
"Are you saying I am not a good king" said Arthur looking hurt, Rose reached out and squeezed his hand.
"No, I am not saying that, I am saying your untested as a king" said Agravaine.

Rose and Merlin looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
"Did today not achieve that" said Arthur.
"Not for the likes of Bayard and Odin and anyone else looking to take Camelot's wealth" said Agravaine. Merlin cooked some dinner, but Rose could tell he was listening to the conversation. She paid attention to the situation.
"What would you have me do" said Arthur.
"I suggest that we force him to accept a treaty on out terms, he must withdraw his men from our lands, return our territories to us. He must surrender Everwick" said Agravaine.
"He would rather die" said Arthur.
"Then you are left with no choice" said Agravaine. It clicked with Rose then, kill Carleon then it would start a war and Arthur being an inexperienced king it would be too much. Everything would fall apart and leaving the throne free for Morgana to take.
"We can't kill a man in cold blood" said Rose suddenly.
"Arthur must do what he needs to do to assert the authority over this land" said Agravaine.
"There must be another way" said Arthur looking like a lost child rather than the king he was meant to be. Agravaine moved over so he was at Arthurs level.
"Think it over, you'll make the right choice" said Agravaine.

They had dinner and then everyone retired except Arthur and Rose sitting on a log by the fire they stayed awake all night. She enjoyed watching the fire slowly die as it glittered gold and orange in the night. As the sun came up, she began to shiver slightly.
"What would you do" asked Arthur.
"I would go with Agravaine's idea, but not with pain of death until it is necessary" said Rose, she couldn't go against Agravaine too much otherwise he'd go to Morgana. She needed to gain his trust so she could intercept the messages and help Morgana to become good again.
"Thank you" said Arthur. She noticed Merlin wake up and come over to them.
"Rose, Arthur, here" said Merlin.

He stood between them and gave them a cup of water, she accepted it gratefully. She drank it one she looked around and saw Agravaine caught her eye and he signalled for to head over towards the stream she gave him a curt nod.
"I am going to go wash" said Rose she got up and went across to the stream which was through the trees, she had insisted making sure they were near the stream so that Merlin didn't have to travel far to fill up the water skins and she was the only one that cleaned her face the others happy to stay dirty. She was ready for the bath she was going to have when she got back to Camelot. She washed her face before straightening up to face Agravaine. She looked around and saw Merlin hiding behind a tree. She pretended not to notice him.
"My lady" said Agravaine.
"My lord" said Rose in a drawl, she creeped herself out "I commend you on your advice".
"I heard your advice to, it was good" said Agravaine.
"Yeah, us two work well as a team" said Rose. Agravaine nodded and smiled at her in the weird smile that made her skin crawl.
"It took me a while to trust you" said Agravaine.
"You trust me?" said Rose. He nodded and she gave him a quick hug before they both headed to camp.

They packed up the camp before gathering with Carleon in a clearing. Rose stood next to Agravaine. Rose presented a scroll to the Carleon he shook his head at her raising his eyebrows at her.
"What is this" said Carleon. Rose handed the scroll to Leon who opened it so he could read it he read it quickly before facing them again "you expect to sign this to humiliate myself". Rose opened her mouth to speak but Carleon interrupted "Not you, this is a man's business".
"Don't speak to her, you invaded our kingdom and took what didn't belong to you" said Agravaine.
"And if I don't" said Carleon.
"Then you will pay with your life" said Rose
"And who makes these terms, a woman in a knights costume" said Carleon.
"Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot" said Arthur walking forward to stand next Rose "she is one of the best knights in Camelot". He moved forward pushing past Leon and Percival.
"Get on with it, make it quick" said Carleon, he knelt in front Arthur and Rose bowing his head ready to die rather than have peace.

Rose looked down at him.
"It doesn't have to be this way, think about your father and his father were at peace, you can equally be at peace, you don't have to accept your death," said Rose.
"I am not my father, and having a female knight is weakness, having commoners as knights, it just shows he is no Uther" said Carleon, Rose scoffed and looked down at him with distaste.
"Yesterday I had you on the floor the at end of my sword in a minute!" said Rose.
"You mock me while I am about to die" said Carleon.
"You give me no choice" said Arthur gravely.
"It is not you who chooses it is I who chooses to die, do you really have the guts to kill me" said Carleon he bowed his head further so that his neck was more available. He raised his sword and held it there.
"So be it" said Arthur.

Rose stepped backwards a few steps and turn away not wanting to watch this part of the plan. There was woosh and a thud as the sword his flesh and another thud.
"Let his men go and they can take him to his kingdom," said Rose. Facing away from everyone but attempting to sound normal.
"Yes, my lady" said Agravaine. They let Carleon's men go who had watched their king be killed, they didn't attempt to harm them they went to their king and made a litter to carry him home. The Camelot knights got on their way home to.

They travelled back to Camelot and Rose gave the reigns to her horse to a servant before getting her bags and heading to her chambers. She drew herself a bath and got in it relaxing in the hot water. She washed her hair and her whole body feeling glad to be back in Camelot. She finally got out of the bath and dried herself off before getting changed her night dress and shawl. She wrote her letter to Mordred.
"Can I come to your room" said Merlin voice in her head.
"Yes" said Rose into his head, a few minutes later Merlin came into her chambers, he went and sat down on her bed and she started pacing "before you shout at me, I wanted to tell Arthur not to kill Carleon but if I go against Agravaine he'll go straight to Morgana and be like look at Rose she's going against me"
"I know, I know, it's okay, I wanted to check and see you were okay" said Merlin. Rose shook her head anxiously and carried on pacing.
"Killing Carleon was a mistake his wife will declare war" said Rose Merlin got up and went over her putting both hands on her shoulders.
"You didn't sleep last night, come on you look exhausted" said Merlin, he took her hand and walked her over to the bed "lay down". She laid down and he went laid down next her. She put her head on his chest and he put his head on her head. She fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

Rose awoke the next morning and she stretched she looked around she was alone. She felt calmer than she had done the night before. She got out of bed and got changed into her usual over large tunic and leggings. As she was putting on her boots there was a knock at her door.
"Enter" said Rose. She looked to see Merlin enter room she smiled and finished doing up her boots, she put on her cloak and he gave her a bit of bread. She ate it happily.
"You look happier" said Merlin. Rose nodded and got up from where she was doing up her boot's she walked across to him.
"I am, we can work this out come on you can walk me to the training ground" said Rose.

She put her arm out for him to link and they walked to the training ground. They saw one of the newer knights fall over a crossbow. They chuckled as they went across to Arthur who was standing at the punching bag. Merlin stood at the punch bag and began to steady it.
"Last night you were seen leaving Rose's chambers, I had to persuade Agravaine not to have you arrested, this has to stop" said Arthur.
"No, it won't stop, he's my best friend" said Rose.
"Are you alright" said Merlin looking concerned.

Rose was too busy being annoyed at the fact that Arthur was trying to stop her seeing her brother her best friend just because he was a man servant.
"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Arthur in an angry voice he carried on punching the bag and faced towards Rose "It is not the proper way to be seen with a male servant all the time". Rose was about to argue but Merlin gave her a look.
"You seem tense" said Merlin.
"No, this Merlin is controlled aggression" said Arthur, the last punch on the bag sent Merlin and the bag backwards on to the ground this was the last straw she was not having this. She helped Merlin up then slapped Arthur across the face.
"You need to calm yourself down, you are a good king when you rule with your heart not your terrible Uther impression, snap out of it before someone gets hurt" said Rose with anger going through her. She stormed off angrily and went to her chambers and slammed the door. She took a few deep breathes she shouldn't have done that. She didn't like this side of Arthur it was too Uther like she wanted him to be himself not his father. Magic would never return if he kept up this Uther act. It was so annoying.

A knock at her chamber doors distracted her from her thoughts. She breathed a bit more before answering the door. Leon stood at the door.
"The king needs you in the council chamber," said Leon. She nodded and they walked to the council chambers together quickly. She went and stood next to Arthur in her usual spot on the right.
"Queen Annis has declared war on Camelot, she marches on us a day's walk from here, they would arrive here for sundown" said Arthur, she noted his cheek was still bright red from her slap she gave him a sympathetic look. Rose looked down at the map there had to be a way to keep them out the citadel this time.
"I recommend we go and intercept them at the ridge of Larcie, then we have the high ground," said Rose.
"That is a good idea, the knights of Camelot get ready, we ride at dawn, Rose stay behind" said Arthur.

After a chorus of long live the king everyone left except Rose and Arthur. She gave him a sheepish look, she turned to face him.
"I am sorry, I slapped you" said Rose. Arthur turned to face her, and she was ready for a lecture, a telling off or an order to her chambers. She was shocked when he pulled her into a hug she hugged back feeling really confused "I thought you would be angry".
"Oh Rose, I was stressed, I know you use Merlin as a way to help you sleep sometimes, you are such a good knight I forget how young you are" said Arthur. He kept her on his arms and looked down at the map.
"According to Carleon I am a weak knight" joked Rose.
"Ignore him" said Arthur he held her tightly to him "you are a great knight, don't let anyone tell you otherwise". Rose went to her chambers and packed up her clothes in a bag again. She then wrote the letter to Mordred before heading to bed.

The next day Rose woke up early and got herself ready to go. She checked in on her connection with Morgana as she had getting fear and anger coming from that connection overnight, so was making sure she was okay, she was okay but still had the fear. She got dressed in her knight's uniform before taking her bag to her horse. She got herself ready on the saddle for before looking across to Agravaine. She attempted to get his attention, but he was too busy being pompous. They set off and they arrived at the ridge of Larcie in the evening. The other army were stood below them this was going to be interesting. Rose helped the knights set up the tents. There was a tent for the nobles, a tent for the higher-ranking knights and a tent for Rose because she was a woman, and nobody wanted to share a tent with her. After this Rose went to her tent and set up her stuff. She shuffled her stuff around the tent. She folded up her clothes and placed them on the side. She got changed into the long tunic and leggings before putting on her cloak. She saw the knights come out of Arthurs tent, she sat down by the fire and warmed herself up. Arthur came and looked at her fondly through the door of his tent.
"Get some rest" said Arthur.

Rose nodded she went over to him and gave him a hug before heading into her tent. She went into her tent and after some time she heard movement. She poked her head of her tent to see Arthur walking away. She saw Merlin catch her eye and nod they got up and they followed him. They followed him as he went into the enemy camp they watched as the guards stopped him.
"Halt" said one of the guards he pulled down his hood and put his hands up in surrender.
"You know who I am, I am unarmed take me to your queen" said Arthur he took of the cloak then to show he was unarmed before being taken away.

They followed him and listened at the tent door she heard a small gasp from behind her she turned around to see Morgana was stood there. Merlin was too engrossed in the situation in the tent to notice her they looked at each other a few minutes she was in the shadow of another tent so if she didn't know she was there she was hidden. Before she could say or do anything, two guards grabbed them, both and pushed them into the tent and forced on to their knees. She looked at Arthur and looked at them both with shock.
"Sorry about this" said Merlin.
"You know them" demanded Annis.
"It's my ward and my servant they must have followed me here, I had no idea" said Arthur.
"Kill the servant" said Annis. Rose got up and stood between the guards and Merlin. The guards that once had hold of her got hold of her again, however this time she straightened her legs so they couldn't force her to her knees.
"No" shouted Rose she was unarmed but she would not let her get hurt or harmed, she looked at across Arthur.
"Wait, let him go, he's a simple-minded fool" said Arthur.

The queen sat down on her throne looking angry and annoyed. Rose was forced onto her knees in her distraction.
"That is two favours you have asked of me this night, Arthur Pendragon" said Annis. They all looked at each other ready for her to give the order to kill Merlin or to spare Merlin, she readied her magic, she avoided Arthur's gaze in case she needed to use the magic "you will get your trial by combat, announce your champion for tomorrow and take your fool with you". Rose relaxed and pushed the magic back down again. Merlin could get up, but Rose was kept on the ground.
"What about my ward" said Arthur anxiously.

She waved her hand and they were dragged out of the tent leaving the tent with just Rose and Annis and a few guards.
"What can I do for you" said Rose politely. Annis got up and Rose got up and back handed her across the face.
"That is for humiliating my husband" said Annis, she went to slap her again, but Rose stepped back and protected her face.
"I didn't humiliate your husband, he was telling me I was weak for being a knight, so I defended myself, I had him pinned to the ground by my sword, that's not weakness" said Rose calmly. She stood her ground "I will not apologise for being good with a sword, I am sorry though for how all of this has turned out". Annis picked up her sword from the side but a presence in the tent made her stop. Morgana walked in and got between Rose and Annis.
"My lady don't do it, she is the ward to the king of Camelot, don't make him the injured party" said Morgana standing defensively in front of Annis. Shielding Rose from view.
"She mocked my husband before he died" said Annis.
"Let her go and you can get revenge on the person that actually killed your husband" said Morgana, love, warmth and protectiveness oozed from the witch. It seemed to stun everyone in the room.
"I see love in your eyes for the first time Morgana, you may go, now!" said Annis.

Rose ran out of the tent as soon giving Morgana a quick thanks on the way out. She ran back to their camp and saw that Arthur was standing anxiously at the campfire. She ran over and gave him a hug.
"Are you alright?" said Arthur she nodded into his shoulder before hugging him tighter to her. They broke apart and stood by the fire.
"Who have you chosen to do the combat" said Rose.
"This war is my fault therefor I must fight this battle" said Arthur. Merlin came into the tent looking pale and frantic.
"Morgana is on the other side; she has allianced herself with Annis" said Merlin.
"How do you know," said Arthur.
"I saw her" said Merlin.
"She just stopped Annis from running me through" said Rose she then did a quick explanation of what happened in the tent.
"Right, Rose go get some rest, I'll speak with you in the morning" said Arthur sounding distant. She went to her tent and laid on her camp bed. She fell asleep quickly feeling exhausted.

The next day Rose woke up early very early and got up out of bed. She left the tent and went to the fire it was still dark, but she could hear that people were awake. She sat by the fire and warmed herself up feeling cold. Something was off though she could sense it, something had changed. Arthur gathered everyone in the tent. It was still dark, but the knights seemed happy enough to be summoned.
"I have switched the battle to single combat, to stop more bloodshed" said Arthur.
"But, sire, we can win this battle. I know we can" said Leon.
"he doesn't doubt it. But at what cost? How many men will be slaughtered?" said Rose standing next Arthur in her usual place.
"And what if we were to lose this trial? We can't give up our land" said Elyan.
"That's the deal I've struck. I believe it to be fair, and I'll stand by it" said Arthur.

Rose nodded it was fair and things were going to go well, except for the high priestess in the next camp.
"Well, then. All that remains, my lord, is for you to choose your champion" said Agravaine looking interested she looked at him. A few of the knights moved forward including Rose.
"I will" said Percival.
"Sire" said Gwaine.
"I would happily do it" said Rose.
"No Rose, you will not" snapped Agravaine.
"There can only be one choice. One choice which is just and honourable. This fight's mine" said Arthur. Everyone looked unimpressed except Agravaine who was smirking. He dismissed everyone except Merlin, he told the male knights to stand guard and get some rest and asked Rose to get some firewood. Rose left the tent and went to her tent and changer her clothes and put on her cloak and put the hood up.

She quickly went into the woods and started to pick up some wood for the fire. She saw some people getting firewood as well. They wore Carleon's uniform and she picked up some wood and attempted to walk away before they noticed her. Luck was not on her side. They turned around to look at her.
"Look who it is, Camelot's female knight" said one of them. She cursed herself she was defenceless with no sword. Only her powers as high priestess but that wouldn't go well. She stood her ground.
"I am only in the woods for firewood, that's all" said Rose calmly.
"You mocked our king before he died" said one of the knights. They raised their sword to her.
"Morgana track me now" said Rose in her head knowing she was probably closer than Merlin. She dropped the wood in her arms and kept a long branch to defend herself.
"Not so cocky now are we" said one of the knights.
"You have to the count of five and if you don't leave me alone, I will act" said Rose.
"What can you do" said one of the knights.
"One, Two, Three, Four…" counted Rose slowly and they slowly approached her she was hoping that Morgana would hurry up.

One of them raised his sword to strike her where she stood. She stood defensively ready to either use magic or chuck the branch at him.
"Five" said Morgana from behind a tree she then blasted them back with magic and ran over to Rose and pulled her into a hug. Rose hugged back quickly before stepping back.
"Thank you" said Rose.
"Are you alright" asked Morgana cupping her face.
"I am thanks to you" said Rose. They hugged again before she had to leave again. She went back to camp with the firewood. She saw that Arthur was stood in the doorway of his tent. He looked at her with interest. She put the firewood on the pile and went over to him "you alright?".
"Yeah, I had Merlin follow you to get firewood and he saw Morgana save you" said Arthur. They went into the tent. Merlin was sharpening a sword.
"She is a weakness to Morgana" said Merlin.
"It would seem that way, I promise you Arthur my loyalty is to you and Camelot" said Rose.
"I know don't worry" said Arthur pulling her into a hug. She hugged back before stepping back to look at Arthur.
"You need to get some sleep, before the battle this evening" said Rose.

She then left the tent and went to her tent. She sat down heavily on the camp bed. Rose didn't like it; she was now known as a weakness for Morgana and Arthur was sending people to follow her around. Did he not trust her at all? She laid herself down and fell asleep for a bit. She awoke later and went to Arthur's tent he was getting ready for the battle. Merlin pulled on the clip on his chest plate and Arthur gasped.
"Not so tight, Merlin" said Arthur.
"You don't want to kill him before he goes out on the field" said Rose. Merlin turned to look at her and chuckled. She went and sat down on Arthur's throne. Arthur took his left glove of and removed his ring. He turned to face Merlin and Rose.
"If today turns out to be my last, give this to Guinevere" said Arthur. He handed the ring to Merlin and sighed "tell her I'm sorry".

Merlin nodded and then carried on sorting out Arthur's armour.
"Arthur, do you really think this is worth the risk? You're king now. Camelot needs you. Alive" said Merlin.
"I don't know what will happen. But for the first time since I became king, I know in my heart I've made the right decision" said Arthur. Rose came over to stand next to Merlin she squeezed Arthur's arm. He smiled at them both. Merlin looked chocked up for a second.
"Well, whatever happens out there...erm..." said Merlin.
"Your going to start crying on me are you" joked Arthur.
"Nah, I think its more he is worried about you, that armour takes ages to clean" joked Rose. They all laughed before they smiled at each other.
"No, just good luck" said Merlin.
"Thank you, old friend" said Arthur.

He shook Merlin's arm which made Rose smile brighter, they hadn't been their usual friendly banter between the two and she had missed it. King or not she knew that Merlin and Arthur's friendship was still strong. Agravaine came in and Arthur let go off Merlin.
"It is time, my lord" said Agravaine.
"Very well" said Arthur.
"Is all in it's readiness" asked Agravaine. Arthur looked at Merlin and Rose then to get permission to leave the tent.
"Merlin, Rose" said Arthur.
"Ready" said Merlin. Rose nodded and handed him his sword. She felt a magic source come from the sword as she handed it to Arthur. She rolled her eyes what had Agravaine done this time. Why wasn't Morgana keeping her in the loop?

They got to the battlefield and all the armies were standing to watch. Rose caught Morgana's eye and she looked at her.
"What have you done with the sword" said Rose into Morgana's head but did it more open so that Merlin could hear it as well.
"It is enchanted, so it will weigh the tones of 1000 tones" said Morgana into her head.
"Why didn't you tell me?" said Rose into her head.
"I don't want you involved, I can deal with Agravaine being caught and beheaded I couldn't deal with it if something happened to you because of me" said Morgana into her head. They stopped looking at each other as the battle started Arthur was battling a man. A giant looking man who looking a bit like a thug. They battled until Morgana used the spell it made both Rose and Merlin take a deep breath as they felt the magic. Arthur struggled to lift his sword and looked directly at Morgana rolling his eyes as he did it.

The giant man swung at Arthur while he was on the ground, but he rolled away and punched him in the face but however Arthur was soon defenceless laying on the ground and had the giant man over the top of him with the sword. She got her sword ready and turned around to run down to save Arthur, she didn't make it very far before Gwaine grabbed her arm and held her there. She struggled against him, she got away from him only for Percival to grab her other side, so she was being held in place by Percival and Gwaine, she huffed a sigh and stopped struggling looking down to see how things were going with Arthur.

The giant dropped his sword and Arthur rolled underneath him and got his sword before knocking him to the ground. He placed his sword next to the giant's head and looked up at the Camelot knights. They all cheered for him and soon a chorus of long live the king was being shouted. She smiled in relief, but she looked down to see Morgana was walking away. Rose was let go in the cheering, so she stepped back out of the group and went into the woods.

She rubbed her arms as she went to the enemy camp. She looked around for Morgana but couldn't find her.
"Morgana" called Rose in her head. She focused on Morgana and saw her in the woods on the other side of the camp. She was upset. Rose shut her eyes "Aswindan ae Morgana". She flew not that far and landed on her feet in front of Morgana. The older women looked upset and had tears in her eyes, Rose pulled Morgana into a hug.
"I miss my life," said Morgana.
"It's alright," said Rose.
"Annis said I tricked her, but she was after revenge as much as me," said Morgana.
"She was out for revenge, you are not responsible for her actions, she had declared war on us before you approached her, please can you keep me in the loop more," said Rose.
"I just don't want you getting hurt," said Morgana.
"I can look after myself and I love you, I don't want you feel like you are alone," said Rose. Morgana pulled her in to a hug and they hugged each other tightly.

The end

Chapter Text

Arthur, the knights and Merlin rode their horses through the woods, they arrived in the valley of the fallen kings, they were on their way back after a patrol. Rose was eager to get back Camelot and get packed up for her trip to Ealdor the next day to see Mordred and Kara. Rose was distracted by a spooky feeling from being there, she looked around and noticed their location in the valley of the fallen kings. She felt her magic tingle under her skin.

She looked to Merlin and they shared a look before he was approached Arthur with his horse. Rose joined him so they were either side of Arthur’s horse.
“You can’t be serious” said Rose.
“What else do you have in mind?” asked Arthur sounding amused.
“Anything, nothing good ever happens in the valley of the kings” said Merlin.
“No one in their right mind would go in here” said Rose. She heard Percival chuckle behind her. She looked to Arthur and saw he was smirking.
“Exactly” said Percival.
“This route is a secret” said Arthur. She sighed. No matter how many times, Rose and Merlin were right about something they would still not listen to them when they talked about the dangers of things. The word troll came to mind. She was distracted from her thoughts by mercenaries charging down the hill.
“Big secret then!” said Rose and Merlin. Arthur took of his cloak and Rose took of hers.
“No need to get cocky” snapped Arthur.

He was dragged from his horse by the nearest Mercenary, Rose got off her horse and waited for an attack, but no attack came. Well not her, they were fighting everyone else but not her. Nobody was taking her on. She looked around to see who needed help. She heard a gasp and spun around to see Merlin on the ground, his eyes were shut, her heart dropped to her stomach. She ran over to him and she knelt over him. Her heart thumping in her chest she put two fingers on his neck and felt the pulse beat under her fingers.
“Merlin, can you hear me, open your eyes” said Rose, Merlin groaned, and she shook him gently he opened his eyes, she stroked the hair off his face and stared into his eyes, he looked at her and slowly shook his head.

Arthur turned around and came running over and together both Arthur and Rose got him up and carried him between them into the trees away from the battle. They went around the trees and laid Merlin down on the ground, so they were hidden by tree roots.
“They need to work through their anger” said Merlin quietly.
“They just did” muttered Arthur.
“On you” muttered Rose. Merlin chuckled quietly and then winced. She could tell that he was in a lot of pain she concentrated on staying hidden ready for a fight.

They waited a bit longer before they moved again. Arthur helped Merlin walk as Rose covered them with their sword. Eventually the sun was beginning to set.
“A night’s rest and you’ll be polishing my armour; it could do with a scrub” said Arthur they found some logs. Rose helped Arthur ease Merlin to the floor to sit against a log he was wincing and wheezing. He was struggling to breathe and that was obvious. Arthur pulled Merlin’s coat back the maze had hit his shoulder and chest it was a nasty red and purple. Rose took off her cloak ripped it at the bottom of the cloak.
“Keep still Merlin this won’t be pleasant” said Rose he nodded, and she wrapped the cloak strips around his shoulder and his chest to stem the bleeding “Arthur cover his mouth”.

Arthur did so and Rose straightened a rib that was poking out nastily. He let out a nasty grunt and a muffled yell. She put the jacket back over his chest. Arthur let go and sat back, Rose stroked Merlin’s hair to comfort him. He sat too stiffly he looked uncomfortable.
“I’ve seen worse I have definitely seen worse” said Arthur.
“On a dead man” said Merlin laughing and then wincing again.
“You’re not going to die Merlin” said Rose squeezing his good shoulder.
“Don’t be such a coward” said Arthur. Rose rolled her eyes at that statement but knew it was his way of attempting to keep up the banter and the walls up. He did not want to show Merlin how scared he was.
“If I do die, will you call me a hero” asked Merlin.
“Probably” said Arthur.
“But whilst he’s still alive he’s a coward” said Rose,

Merlin shifted around and put his head on Rose’s shoulder.
“That how these things work I am afraid, you get the glory after your dead” said Arthur.
“Well...unless you're the king” said Merlin and Rose at the same time. Arthur looked at them in a strange way.
“It’s weird when you two do that, it’s got to have some advantages” said Arthur.
“You have a good servant” said Merlin he smiled and then winced and wheezed again. Rose moved so she propped him up against her, so he was upright.
“You're right. I do. A servant who is extremely brave. And incredibly loyal, to be honest. Not at all cowardly” said Arthur sounding heartfelt and worried for the first time ever.

All three of them looked at each other with a meaningful look.
“Thank you, both of you for saving my life” said Merlin.
“You’d do the same for me” said Arthur.
“We should get some rest” said Rose. They moved into a clearing and laid Merlin down on the ground on his back. Arthur propped himself against a tree and Rose laid herself down between the two of them. Merlin fell asleep instantly looking worn out and tired. She turned to face Arthur he looked at her with interest.
“This is Morgana’s doing” said Arthur.
“What makes you say that?” asked Rose.
“The Mercenaries wouldn’t touch you, you attempted to challenge one and he freaked out, Its either you have magically gained a few feet in height or they have all been threatened not harm me” said Arthur. Arthur laughed before sighing with frustration. They both rolled over and attempting fall asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning to twigs snapping around her. She looked to Arthur who had just woken up as well. They got up and looked at Merlin who was awake and wincing in pain. She attempted to look at the wound, but Arthur stopped her looking serious.
“We don’t have time; I wish I could say we can sit here and rest but another five minutes we’ll be mercenary mincemeat” said Arthur he bent down and pulled Merlin over his shoulder.
“Arthur leave me” said Merlin.
“Now’s not the time for jokes” said Arthur turning so they were facing the right direction.
“Please leave me” said Merlin.   
“Sure, whatever you say, come its this way” said Rose.

They all walked in the direction of Camelot; Rose was covering them while Arthur carried Merlin. She watched Merlin as he was wincing in pain every so often, once they get him Gaius, he would be fine. They got to a gorge area and a man was at the other side with a sword. Arthur lowered Merlin of his back; Rose helped to get him to the floor without hitting his head.
“Cover Merlin” said Arthur. Rose didn’t need telling twice she got her sword out and stood over Merlin, Arthur started to fight the first person, a second person ran past Rose and Merlin, he ignored them his target being Arthur. He dispatched the two men before a whole group of them started to run towards Arthur he readied himself for the fight.
“Gewican ge stanas!” said Merlin under his breath.

A rumble came from above she looked up and saw the rocks begin to fall between Arthur and the men that were going to attack him. However, it also meant Rose and Merlin were separated from Arthur. He noticed this and attempted to run towards them, but the rock fall stopped him the wind that was caused by the rock fall blew leaves. Rose got down and covered Merlin’s eyes and covered his head to stop him getting hurt.
“MERLIN! ROSE!” shouted Arthur.

Rose looked and saw the Mercenaries were surrounding them, she looked down to see Merlin had passed out. She straightened up and put her arms out, readying her magic. However, she was stopped when Agravaine came to the front. She surrendered and put her hands up. Two of the mercenaries picked up Merlin roughly, she moved forward but two got either side of Rose and held her back.
“Be gentle with him!” said Rose with a stern voice. They ignored her and they were both moved forward.

They were taken up the hill to where she saw Morgana at the top, the closer they got to the top Morgana got angrier and Agravaine looked more and more nervous as they got closer and closer to her. They dropped Merlin on to the floor, Rose struggled against the men holding her.
“I lose how many men, and you bring me how many men” said Morgana, glaring at the men that were holding Rose. They let go quickly and she moved closer to Merlin “you bring me a common servant and you bring me my ward after I told you to spare her”.

She approached Rose and cupped her cheek.
“Arthur was just in our grasp; she was attempting to stop us capturing Merlin, we had to restrain her” said Agravaine. Morgana let go of Rose and rounded on Agravaine. Rose took her chance she knelt over Merlin and checked his pulse.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better, I don’t care if she runs you through with a sword if I tell you all spare her, you spare her” said Morgana angrily.
“The rock fall was hardly our fault, I must show my presence in Camelot, the old physician already suspects me” said Agravaine.
“Stop smirking at the wrong time and then he wouldn’t suspect you” said Rose she looked up to Morgana “sorry but why don’t you use me as the traitor again”. Agravaine rolled his eyes and moved closer to Merlin.
“I don’t want you involved in case you end up like me, Oh, Gaius is shrewd, you should take care. After all, if your true nature's revealed, I really don't know what use I'll have for you” said Morgana. Agravaine looked angrily at Merlin. He got his sword out.
“I will dispatch this servant, move out the way Rose!” said Agravaine.

 Rose shook her head and changed her stance, so she was stood between Merlin and Agravaine. Readying her magic again.
“You will do no such thing” said Morgana stepping forward she looked down on him “Arthur is strangely fond of the boy; he could come in usual”. She then took Rose’s hand and they walked into the hovel as Merlin was carried in by the mercenaries. He was tied up, so his hands were above his head dangling from the ceiling. Morgana dismissed the mercenaries and Agravaine. They both stood by the hanging Merlin.
“What are you going to do to him” asked Rose standing between the dark and the light of her destiny this was insane.
“I won’t kill him, I promise, I’ll use him as a way to get to Arthur” said Morgana reassuringly, even though she knew of Morgana’s hate for Merlin, she actually felt like she was telling the truth. She moved away from him bringing Rose with her, “keep an eye on him and I’ll get some water to wake him”.
“Don’t be too long” said Rose.

She sat down by the fire while Morgana left the hovel and it felt like in no time at all she was back with a bucket of water. She obviously didn’t want Rose alone with him for too long in case she decided to escape with him.
“What am I going to do with you, according to Arthur you’ve obviously been taken by the mercenaries, are you completely on my side, if I let you stay here with Merlin maybe pretend to be my hostage as well, will you promise to not reveal my plans,” said Morgana.
“I will not reveal your plans under one condition, Merlin gets healed and doesn’t die in result of your plan” said Rose she looked across to him “please don’t kill him, you know he’s my best friend”.  Morgana looked at her for a few minutes with interest before nodding Rose smiled and took her hands “with the whole hostage thing its pointless, he saw you defending me to Annis and her knights”.
“Let’s wake him up then” said Morgana.

She picked up the bucket again and tossed the water on him. He awoke gasping attempting to stand “good morning”.
“Is it” said Merlin looking at her directly in the eye.
“Don’t be like that, we have a lot of catching up to do, After all, I haven't seen you since you and Gaius condemned my sister to a slow and painful death, thwarted my plans to take over Camelot, and forced me to live in a hovel” said Morgana her voice sounding matter of fact.
“Couldn't do me a favour, could you? Let Arthur know he still thinks of me of an underachiever, but I'm quite proud of those accomplishments, I can die happy” said Merlin.
“You’re not going to die; I’m not going to make it that easy” said Morgana.

Rose rolled her eyes why did they both have to be so dramatic. They were both meant to be the most magical beings in the world and yet they both act like a couple of grumpy teenagers.
“Do you both have to be dramatic” asked Rose coming over and standing between Merlin and Morgana.
“Rose, what are you doing here” said Merlin looking at her with a serious look. He looked scared and really confused, he was wincing every so often. She hoped he would be healed soon.
“You know how it is, your both just great company” said Rose sarcastically he stared at her, “The Mercenaries decided to kidnap me as well which is annoying as I was meant to be going to Ealdor today, don’t worry though Morgana gave them a telling off, so I am here for the time being because I refuse to leave you”. She then concentrated on Merlin and said into his head “I will not let her hurt you”.

Morgana walked away and went to the fire to poke it; Rose left the hovel to go get some firewood and go hunting for dinner for the three of them. She didn’t go too far away from the hovel in case someone found her. As she walked, she thought about it, as the link between the dark and the light it was weird to have them both in the same location, she wondered if there was more, she should be doing. She caught a few rabbits and gathered some wood before going back to the hovel as it was nightfall.
“I was getting worried about you” said Morgana as she turned around. Rose put stuff on the side and started cooking.
“I got us three something to eat, can you untie him the ceiling so he can eat or am I feeding him” said Rose nodding across to Merlin tied to the ceiling.

Morgana rolled her eyes at her.
“Yeah, while we’re at it we’ll make him a feast” said Morgana.
“A rabbit stew and a bit of bread does not include a feast; he needs to eat, if he doesn’t eat, I don’t eat” said Rose defiantly. She was not going to back down on this, she was not going to sit and eat in front of him if he didn’t eat, she didn’t eat. She carried on cooking as Morgana just stared at her.
“There is no stopping you is there, turn off your emotions for five minutes” said Morgana looking at her with a smile on her lips.

That touched a nerve with Rose because it reminded her of when they enchanted her to try and get rid of her emotions and guilt. She spent a whole year fighting with her own mind. 
“No, absolutely not, if you must stick another enchantment on me” said Rose sarcastically. Morgana looked like she slapped her before her face softening, she came over to Rose and wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind.
“I wouldn’t have you any other way, I did not let Morgause enchant you because I wanted to change you, I wanted you to feel better” said Morgana.
“I know you had the best intentions doesn’t mean I want to take my emotions away” said Rose she turned around in Morgana’s hold and hugged her back. She then carried on cooking and soon there was three bowls of rabbit stew on the table. Morgana tied Merin’s feet together then untied his hands and sat him at the table.

Sometime later Merlin was back being tied to the ceiling. Rose was laid on Morgana’s bed as she was tired and decided that if Morgana was going to do something to Merlin she’d wake up. Morgana was about to clean Merlin’s wound anyway; she wasn’t completely evil. She turned around and was about to fall asleep then she heard Morgana speak. She looked over and saw she had begun to clean his wound she then shut her eyes, not wanting to be a part of the conversation.
“You know, there's one thing I don't understand, Merlin, You're Arthur's servant, nothing more. Yet, time and again, you've proved yourself willing to lay down your life for him” said Morgana she sounded genuinely curious.
“What are you doing?” asked Merlin sounding confused.
“Never seen Gaius clean a wound before” said Morgana sarcastically. Couldn’t they have a conversation that wasn’t so full of hate and fear then she wouldn’t have to be the link between the dark and light, feeling conflicted most of the time.
“All right, I know what you're doing. What I don't know is why” said Merlin his voice sounding strained.
“I believe I asked you a question first, why are you so loyal to Arthur?” demanded Morgana
“I don't expect you to understand, Morgana. You have no sense of duty, no sense of loyalty” said Merlin.

Rose rolled her eyes while they were shut, was he really that stupid. The greatest warlock to walk the earth yet had no idea how to act and behave while he was being kept hostage, maybe it’s not best to insult your capture.
“You’re wrong, don’t think I don’t understand loyalty just because I have only one person left to be loyal to” said Morgana.
“Something we have in common, a love for her” said Merlin quietly.
“Yeah, you could say it is,” said Morgana. She then did a healing spell on Merlin arm. Rose fell asleep after that knowing he was safe for the time being.

Rose woke up the next day, she sat up and saw that Merlin was still tied up. Morgana was not in the hovel. She looked across to Merlin and got up. She went over to him and checked his chest arm the wound was completely gone.
“So, what’s the plan” said Merlin.
“I don’t have one at the moment, I am making it up as I go along” said Rose. She went over the table and saw the book was open on a page. A creature called a Fomorroh it’s an ancient creature that spends a lot of time in the dark, used by high priestesses to control the minds of their enemies. It drained the life force of the person it possesses.  She did not like the sound of that at all. Morgana came in and saw she was reading the book.
“You got a letter from Mordred, it’s just there” said Morgana pointing at the paper on the table next to it. “He’s probably worried that you haven’t turned up to Ealdor yet, probably wants a kiss”. Rose looked up then and looked at Merlin who was looking at her with a shocked look in his eye.
“You’ve been going to see Mordred in Ealdor?” questioned Merlin.
“Yes, he’s been living there since we found Morgana last year” said Rose.
“And your courting” said Merlin it was a statement rather than a question however Rose nodded and gave an apologetic look.
“I love him” said Rose.
“You know what he is destined to do” said Merlin.

Rose gave him a look to say shut up right now, he opened his mouth to speak but she was not having him reveal Mordred’s destiny to Morgana, she did want her lover to be used a pawn to bring down Camelot.
“Swefe nu” said Rose pointing it to Merlin so he immediately fell asleep. Morgana gave her a questioning look. Before she could speak Agravaine barged in looking serious.
“I need to take Rose back to Camelot, Arthur has sent his men to comb the entire forest it won’t be long until they find this place, he gave the order not to return unless we have either of you” said Agravaine.
“I’ll go then if they come too close to here, they’ll be upon us, I don’t want you captured” said Rose, taking Morgana’s hand and squeezing it. 
“Thank you” said Morgana. Rose got a scrap of paper and wrote Mordred a note before summoning a bird and putting the letter in the bird’s beak. The bird flew away.
“Who is on the search, I need to know so I can track them” said Rose.
“The knights Gwaine, Leon and Elyan and a load of others who’s name I can’t remember” said Agravaine. She used her tracking ability and concentrated on Leon the group were in a clearing far away from the hovel. She couldn’t risk it though if they found Morgana, they’d executed her on the spot, or she’d end up running her mouth and end making things worse for herself.
“Okay they are in a clearing near Camelot” said Rose she took both of Morgana’s hands “Remember don’t kill him”. She then hugged her tightly.

Rose left the hovel with Agravaine, he went off a head and Rose went into the woods so that she could appear more weathered. She walked through the woods and walked to where she had been separated from Arthur and walked from there to make sure she was coming from that direction to make sure she was coming from the right direction. She walked slowly towards Camelot, she tracked them again to see they were close. She shivered as she walked forward, the day was cold, and she had left the cloak at Morgana’s. She carried on walking for a while until she heard the patrol come near her. She stopped walking, she tripped on a tree root making her gasp as she twisted her ankle, she then got up and waited behind a tree, favouring one leg.

Note to self don’t track and walk at the same time.
“Declare yourself” said Leon she stepped out from behind the tree.
“Rose” exclaimed Gwaine, he came over to her and gave her a hug he stood back and looked her up and down “are you alright? Where’s Merlin?”.
“I don’t know, I was knocked out when I came around, he was gone, can we go home now, I’m knackered” said Rose leaning against the tree. Leon nodded and got the horses ready, she hobbled over to the horses.
“Who will she ride with?” asked Agravaine. She turned around quickly to see he was there; he must have joined the search after seeing Morgana.
“I’ll ride with Gwaine” said Rose quickly before Agravaine could offer his services. Gwaine helped her on to the horse and then climbed on behind her. They all rode to Camelot, she felt bad for leaving Merlin, but it was that or leave Morgana to get found. She hated being in the middle of them.

They arrived at Camelot and Leon helped her down. She waited for Gwaine to get down before using him as support.
“Where would you like to go” asked Gwaine.
“I want to see Arthur” said Rose.
“Leon, Agravaine, go ahead and let him know we’ve found her, I’ll bring her along at a snail’s pace, because of her ankle” said Gwaine. They nodded and walked ahead.  She wrapped her arm around Gwaine’s neck, and she limped into the castle with his support.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“Your welcome, however, it would be quicker if I carry you” said Gwaine stopping to catch his breath a second.
“No chance, have you carry me in like a damsel” said Rose she punched his arm happily “besides I doubt you’d be able to lift me anyway” He gave her a smirk. 
“Alright then you asked for it” said Gwaine, he bent slightly and without warning she was over his shoulder, he then ran through the castle to the council chambers. He set her down outside the door and she entered the room to see the council was in session.
“Rose, I was so worried” said Arthur. He got up and came over. He hugged her tightly to him.
“I am fine, apart from I twisted my ankle, I got separated from Merlin” said Rose sounding scared, she didn’t like how good she had come at lying.
“Come on let’s take you to your chambers” said Arthur. Leading her out the door.

A potion and a bandaged-up ankle later, Rose was in her chambers. Gaius was doing some last-minute checks.
“Is Merlin alright?” asked Gaius quietly in case someone walked in and overheard them.
“Yes, I can’t say a lot, just know when he return’s he won’t be himself and keep an eye on the back of his neck” said Rose quietly. Arthur came in and they stopped talking immediately.
“Everything alright with you two?” asked Arthur looking at them suspiciously.
“Yeah, I was explaining about what happened to Gaius” said Rose. He gave a sympathetic smile and sat on the bed, so he was next to her. She wrapped her arm around his stomach, and he wrapped his arms around shoulders.

Haius left the room with a bow. Rose was tired but she was scared, she shouldn’t have left Merlin alone with her.
“Are you alright” said Arthur.
“I am worried about Merlin” said Rose, which was true, she was so worried about Merlin. What if he got hurt? The Fomorroh was dangerous, it sucked out all the life force of a person. Arthur laid them both down further on to the bed, so they were both laying flat on the bed. The arm around shoulder started to stroke Rose’s hair. She started to feel sleepy.
“Don’t worry, Gwaine and I will go find him in the morning” said Arthur. She smiled sleepily before falling asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning, she was alone. She got up and went across to her wardrobe. She changed into one of Morgana’s tunic and leggings. She put on her knight’s cloak and stood at the window. Her ankle was feeling loads better. She saw Arthur and Gwaine set off from Camelot. She then walked to Gaius’s chamber. She went across to his library and got a book out and started to read. She spent the rest of the day in Gaius’s chambers sat on the floor against the wall reading. Every so often Gaius would make small talk and make her a cup of tea. In the evening, the door opened she looked up to see a very mucky Merlin walk in.

She got up and ran over to him giving him a hug. He hugged back tightly. He wasn’t right, she could feel it. She stepped back and looked at him. Gaius came over and hugged him. Rose circled around Merlin and looked at inspected him. A black growth wiggled in the back of his neck. 
“I’m going to go and let you get clean” said Rose. She squeezed his arm and left the room. She went to her room and shut the door. So much for not killing Merlin, the Fomorroh was going to suck the life force out of him and she couldn’t do anything about it she had to keep Morgana on side. She went to her chambers and changed her cloak to her blue druid cloak. She then concentrated on Morgana and shut her eyes “Aswindan ae Morgana”.

She vanished and the flying feeling came. She then landed in the hovel.
“Rose?” questioned Morgana.
“I said don’t kill him, putting a mind controlling life sucking snake in his neck is going to eventually kill him” said Rose.
“It doesn’t always kill the host, he’ll be okay, please don’t expose me” said Morgana. Rose approached Morgana and crossed her arms.
“I won’t expose you; I would never betray you Morgana, you have to trust me, I just want you back in my life without breaking the law” said Rose.
“I just worry that you’ll just turn on me, you’re the kings ward, your friends with my enemies” said Morgana.
“It’s not about that, I love you and I love them, the problem is dead, Uther is no longer around with his magic hating antics and I believe I can get Arthur to change his stance on magic but you have to stop attacking him with it, you told me last week you wanted your old life back and it could happen but it has to be slow” said Rose.
“Arthur hates our kind; do you believe if you revealed your magic to him, he’d accept you” said Morgana.
“I don’t know, I just know I want to help you, you live in a hovel and in fear, I will not reveal the enchantment on Merlin however he is acting out of character, so it won’t be long until at least Gaius notices” said Rose. She pulled Morgana into a hug and then pulled away but held her hands “I am going to go back to Camelot and then go to Ealdor, please think about what I have said”.

Rose then did the Aswindan spell and landed back in her bedroom. It was empty which she was glad off, she got some stuff together and got some paper. She wrote a note to Gaius which read “Fomorroh, check Merlin’s neck, they grow back”. She then went to the physian’s chamber. She put the note in Gaius’s book, so it was sticking out slightly. She then went back to her room and packed up some clothes. She then wrote a note saying she was going to Ealdor. She then shut her eyes and prepared herself. She did the Aswindan spell to Ealdor. She landed in the outskirts of Ealdor and smiled as she saw the village that was her second home. She needed to see Mordred, after the last few days she just wanted to relax, she hadn’t visited Mordred in awhile because everything was crazy in Camelot. She loved visiting Ealdor. She didn’t have to worry about her destiny and have some fun.

She walked into the village and went straight to Mordred’s hut. She let herself in and sat down at his table waiting for him to arrive. She hoped he would be there soon she was so ready to see him. The door opened and Mordred came in. His eyes lit up when he saw her. He shut the door behind her and bolted the door shut. She ran over to him and hugged him. She then kissed him passionately, the most passionate she had ever felt. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed, and he fell backwards onto it. She carried kissing as she started strip.

After making love Rose and Mordred laid next to each other on the bed her head on his chest, his arm wrapped around her.
“So, what caused that? I doubt you came all the way here to have your wicked way with me” said Mordred stroking her hair. She explained to him what had been happening over the last few weeks. She went into details about how it was making her feel as she wasn’t able to express that in the letters. After she finished, he kissed her head and pulled her closer.
“Do you know what your destiny is?” asked Rose curiously.
“Unfortunately, I do, I am destined to be the one to kill Arthur, but I won’t, it’s our actions that guide the future not destiny” said Mordred.
“I made sure Morgana didn’t find out otherwise she’ll be banging the door down wanting to recruit you” said Rose. She laid there contently, this what she loved about Ealdor and visiting Mordred she didn’t have to worry about Morgana attempting to kill Camelot or Merlin getting himself exposed. She could just lay in the arms of the boy she loved.

The end.

Chapter Text

Rose spent the next few days in Ealdor doing normal village stuff, helping with the potions with Mordred and spending time with Kara, Mordred and Hunnith. She would spend the night with Mordred. Kara would spend some nights with them and nights where Mordred and Rose would want time alone, she would sleep in Hunnith’s house. It was night-time and she was asleep cuddled up to Mordred. It was Hunnith’s night to have Kara, so Mordred and Rose were a bit undressed. She started to dream only she soon came to realise it was not a dream. She was watching the scene in horror this was the not-too-distant future, she concentrated it was to come to pass in a day’s time, she concentrated again it was early hours of the morning.

She was in a cave like room with guards around her and a stone bed in front of her on the stone bed was Gaius, she recognised it as the ridge of Kemeray. He looked weak and tired, he opened his eyes and looked at her defiantly.
“It’s time for the fun to begin” said Morgana, it was weird as it was coming from her, but it wasn’t her body or mouth. She was not in control all she could do was watch.
“Get on with it Morgana, whatever you want to do just do it now, I am not afraid to die” said Gaius. Morgana scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“Dying is the easy part, wouldn’t be in such a hurry if I were you” said Morgana. She looked to the man in the room who was standing by the stone bed “my friend here is going to help me get some information, some information you might be a little reluctant to give, I want you to tell me where Emerys is”. This must be why Rose was seeing this it was to do with the both Merlin and Morgana and now poor Gaius was going to pay the price.
“I don’t know anyone called Emerys” said Gaius.
“Oh, I think you do” said Morgana.
“Do what you will” breathed Gaius he looked her in the eye “I will not tell you anything Morgana”. Rose knew Gaius he would never reveal Merlin’s identity and she hoped it would stay that way.
“Alator is no ordinary torturer, he’s a Catha priest of the old religion, he has a lot of skills at his disposal” said Morgana. Rose’s heart dropped a Catha priest used both mental and physical torture to get what they want, “you’re a clever man Gaius, I’m sure you know exactly what he can do” She felt an anger in Morgana and a hurt that she had barely felt before. Alator approach Gaius as Morgana and Agravaine left the room.

At that point she awoke, she gasped loudly as she sat up waking up Mordred in the process. Mordred held her as she got her breath back. She told Mordred everything. After she finished her story he got up and started getting dressed.
“What are you doing?” asked Rose.
“Getting ready to go to save Gaius” said Mordred, Rose started to get dressed and smiled at his nobleness.
“Merlin will love that” said Rose.
“This could be my moment to prove that I am not all bad, and what better way than saving his guardian” said Mordred. She smiled and nodded she packed a bag of fruit and got her sword; she wrote a note to Hunnith.

They then took the one horse and got on it. Setting of just before sunrise. They rode for the rest of the day not stopping until they reached the border for the night. They sat by a campfire that Rose had made eating fruit.
“So, when will this come to pass” asked Mordred.
“Tomorrow morning, I assume he’s getting kidnapped now as we speak” said Rose sadly, she placed her head on Mordred’s shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her.
“None of this is your fault” said Mordred.
“It feels like it I thought if I could leave them to it they’d sort themselves out, now poor Gaius is going to get hurt because I wasn’t there to talk her out of it” said Rose. Mordred moved so they sat in front of each other he cupped her face.
“You are not at fault, Morgana is in charge of her own action, you are allowed to have a break from your destiny, and you are allowed to have fun, do you understand” said Mordred she nodded and then hugged him tightly, he held back just as tight. She kissed him before moving so she was laying down on the ground, he laid down next to her and pulled her to him, so they were cuddled up together.
“We’ll sleep until the morning then we’ll get going, it’s just over a day’s ride, would ask Kilghara but he’ll probably set you on fire” said Rose. He chuckled, at that she shut her eyes and fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning she was still cuddled up to Mordred, she smiled down at his sleeping form. She nudged him to wake him up, then got up and straightened down her clothes. Mordred got up and arranged the horse then got on.
“Let’s go save Gaius” said Mordred happily putting his hand out she took it and climbed on in front of him. She kicked the horse into life, and they set off on their journey. They rode for the rest of the day and all Rose could do was worry about Gaius. He had always been there for her, would help her with her schooling, helped her during difficult times, he was like a father to her and she didn’t want him to die.
“How do you know where they are” asked Mordred.
“I went on patrol there a few weeks ago with Gwaine and a few other knights,” said Rose.
“It’s hard to imagine Gwaine being a knight,” said Mordred. She smiled and looked back to him.
“He goes rogue a lot,” said Rose. She got a feeling of anger from the connection, she tapped into it to see which connection it was coming from. Merlin it was coming from him.

He must have found out about Gaius being missing. They arrived at the ridge after nightfall. They got off the horse and tied up their horse to the tree. They got their swords out and walked into the cave slowly. They got into the main part of the cave they walked to side and hid as a bodyguard came past. One he was out of sight Mordred looked to her.
“What’s the plan” said Mordred into her head.
“We’ll find Gaius, or Morgana” said Rose into his head. They heard a noise and stayed where they were. Merlin and Gwaine came into the cave a guard came over to them and swung his sword at Gwaine. The rogue knight swung his lit torch at the man before chucking it down and getting sword taking on the protective stance in front of Merlin.

They fought until Gwaine was de-sworded. Mordred ran forward and stabbed the man in the back as he loomed over Gwaine. He screamed and fell on to Gwaine. Rose moved forward as Mordred got the man off Gwaine.
“Mordred” exclaimed Gwaine hugging Mordred happily.
“What are you two doing here” said Merlin looking at them suspiciously.
“We came to save Gaius” said Mordred and Rose at the same time. Gwaine then started to look at them suspiciously.
“How do you even know they were missing” said Gwaine. Merlin just looked confused and annoyed. She gave him a look and he then nodded realisation coming on to his face.
“We’ll explain that later, come on let’s go” said Merlin.

The four of them walked forward through the cave, Merlin and Gwaine walking ahead with Mordred and Rose walking behind them holding hands. They got to a part of the cave that went two ways. The four of them looked at each other.
“We should split up, Mordred go with Gwaine, I’ll go with Rose” said Merlin everyone nodded. Rose hugged Mordred and kissed him. She could feel Merlin’s eyes burning into the back of her head. She ignored the look and broke apart from Mordred.
“Be careful” said Rose. Mordred and Gwaine began started to walk away.
“If you find him first, don’t wait for us” said Merlin. He then grabbed Rose’s hand then they walked forward he waited until Mordred and Gwaine were out of sight “vision or did you help Morgana plan this”. Rose felt like he had slapped her across the face.
“I’m going to ignore the fact you just called me a traitor, off course it was a vision, Merlin, I would never betray you, we’ll talk about this later” said Rose. He gave an apologetic look before they carried on walking until they came to another part of the cave that went to ways.
“I’ll go this way; you go that way” said Merlin. Rose walked through the cave which ended up being a dead end. She ended up walking back the way she came, did he really think she would do that to poor Gaius. She wouldn’t let Morgana hurt Merlin her brother, did he honestly thing she would betray him and hurt the people she cared about. 

Apart of her destiny was to protect the once and future queen. She wasn’t exactly going to turn against them. She carried on walking through the tunnel and went the root that Merlin did. She finally found them Merlin, Alator and Morgana. Merlin was on the floor, while Morgana stood over him a dagger magically pointed to his neck. Alator was watching the scene with interest, she hid behind a rock. Then she got the message in her head she longed to hear.
“Good news we found Gaius, bad news Agravaine has arrested me for threatening his life” said Mordred’s voice in her head, her heart dropped. She was about to reply but she got distracted by the scene in front of her.
“Tell me” said Morgana.
“Never!” snapped Alator, he blasted her back with magic knocking her out, Rose came forward then and got down on her knees checking on Morgana. “Merlin, I am Alator of the Catha. I am honoured to be of service” he looked across to Rose “My lady”.
“You have magic!” exclaimed Merlin.
“I understand the burden you both carry, I have lived with it all my life. I have been shunned, persecuted, and sometimes even hunted in every corner of the five kingdoms. I understand what that feels like, neither of you are alone, from what Gaius told me, I do not have your great powers, but I share your hopes. For I, and others like me, have dreamt of the world you both seek to build, and we would gladly give our lives to help you do it” said Alator. He knelt down in front of Merlin and bowed.

Rose sent the men ahead as she checked over Morgana. She had a gash on the back of her head and was pale. She put her hand on the gash.
“Ahluttre tha seocness. Thurh-haele braed,” said Rose. The gash left and more colour came into her face, she was still looking tired but it was better than it was she didn’t want to leave Morgana unconscious in the cave alone, she didn’t deserve that “wece”. Morgana woke up and looked at her. She started to shake with fear, Rose put her arms out and Morgana crawled closer and then was in her arms “its alright, its alright”. They sat there a bit longer before Rose remembered that Agravaine had arrested Mordred.
“Thank you for healing me” said Morgana into her shoulder.
“It’s alright, I’ve got to go, your traitor has arrested Mordred” said Rose. Morgana moved back and gave a shocked look. They both stood up.
“Go, I’ll deal with Agravaine” said Morgana. Rose nodded and left that part of the cave. She met Merlin back at the horses outside the cave. It was daylight which was weird.
“We’re sharing a horse” said Merlin getting on the horse putting his hand, she took it and climbed on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist to keep her balance.

They cantered back to Camelot in silence. Once they arrived back at Camelot they got of the horse.
“Mordred where are you?” asked Rose telepathically.
“He’s here?” questioned Merlin.
“Yeah he found Gaius with Gwaine, Agravaine then arrested him for threatening him” said Rose.
“Give the man a knighthood” said Merlin laughing.
“I am in the throne room” said Mordred in her head. She ran to the throne room and walked in slowly. Mordred was on his knees in front of Arthur. Rose walked forward and stood next to him.
“What’s all this” asked Rose.
“This man has admitted to threatening the life of lord Agravaine” said Arthur seriously. She looked at him with shock. He attempting to sound kingly and Uther like which made her wince.
“I did it to protect Gaius, he had a sword to his throat,” said Mordred. Rose was impressed with him arguing back, not taking this laying down.
“I explained, I was checking for breath” said Agravaine.
“Does him not rescuing Gaius with us not change anything” said Gwaine.

Rose watched this interaction, she stared into Arthur’s eyes. Silently begging him not to sentence Mordred to death or make him angry enough to kill him on the spot.
“Arthur, as your ward, I believe you should give him the benefit of the doubt, he did help save Gaius,” said Rose. Arthur looked at her and nodded. He then looked at her and smiled. He looked ready to give his sentence.
“You have until nightfall to leave the city, to return will be pain off death” said Arthur. Rose’s jaw dropped, she suggested letting him off not banishment. How was he meant to eventually move to Camelot if he was banished?
“Your banishing him? Why?” asked Rose.
“He’s a druid, they are all out to kill us” said Arthur.

Rose hated him when he said stuff like that it was so Uther like and horrible it was like the destiny of the once and future king was for nothing. She glared at Arthur.
“He’s not just a druid, he’s a physician, handy with a sword and he helped save your physician,” said Rose.
“It is the law of this land” said Arthur before dismissing everyone.  Rose helped Mordred up and took him out the room. Rose took him to the courtyard giving him a horse, so he didn’t have to walk back. Her anger and emotions were raging as she walked with Mordred to the edge of the city.
“This is ridiculous, he has no reason to banish you, it’s so annoying, after everything you did to save Gaius, you put yourself at risk and don’t worry Agravaine will get what’s coming to him” said Rose, Mordred turned around and put his finger to lips before kissing her. She kissed back.
“It’s alright, things will change but for now we will be a distant partnership, I love you, we will be together one day” said Mordred. He hugged her before getting on the horse. She smiled up at him “I love you”.
“I love you to” said Rose.

He then kicked the horse and went out of Camelot. On the route back to Ealdor. Rose walked back to the castle and went to Arthur’s chambers. She walked into him sat flirting with Gwen as per usual, he could kiss and court a servant, but she couldn’t court a druid without it being illegal.
“Change the law on druids” demanded Rose. She stood in front of him defiantly.
“I can’t they have magic, and they are plotting to kill me” said Arthur.
“Not all druids have magic! They are peaceful people; Mordred didn’t deserve to be banished,” said Rose.
“You can’t be seen to be in contact with a druid” said Arthur.
“You are courting a maid, you will eventually marry said maid and she will be queen, so don’t you dare have a go at me, just because I have become close to druid,” said Rose. Arthur was about to speak but Gwen stepped in taking Rose’s hand.
“Rose, you have had quiet the ordeal, come with me and I’ll run you a bath” said Gwen and before either person in the room could argue. Gwen dragged Rose out of the room.

After a long bath and head massage courtesy of Gwen, Rose felt a lot calmer, still annoyed that the love of her life was banished from Camelot, but it was better than it was. She sat at her table writing letters and reading. There was a knock at the door.
“Enter” said Rose. The door opened and Merlin entered the room looking sheepish he was about to speak but she put her hand up and he shut his mouth. She went across the room and put a silencing spell on the door before turning to face her brother “So, earlier you felt the need to ask me if I helped Morgana take Gaius, I am deeply offended by this suggestion”.
“I know, I’m sorry I..” said Merlin.
“I would rather get trampled by all the horses in the stable than watch something bad happen to Gaius or you” said Rose.
“You got bored and left while I was being kept hostage” said Merlin.
“No, I left because I got told they were looking for me, I stayed so that she didn’t kill you, I made her promise not to kill you” said Rose she then walked back to her desk and leant on it “When I found out about the stupid creature in your neck, I wrote Gaius a note and confronted Morgana”.
“I am sorry” said Merlin walking closer to her “I appreciated the note you left, it helped Gaius notice quicker, however I have to ask why did you turn up to rescue Gaius with Mordred”.

“I had a bad dream and when I woke up, I woke Mordred up and yes when I am in Ealdor we share a bed don’t worry about it most of the time we have Kara in our house” said Rose. She then did a basic run down of who Kara was as he looked at her stunned.
“Rose you’re 14, what does mother think” asked Merlin.
“She is okay with it; he makes me happy, you’re my brother not my dad, you can’t tell me who I can court or not court” said Rose.
“I will do my best to butt out, it’s hard though, I have watched you grow up and it has only been the last few years I realised we were brother and sister” said Merlin she let him pull her into a hug and she hugged back tightly.
“I hate it when we fight, just know I am not betraying Camelot or you, I love it so much” said Rose into Merlin’s shoulder. He stepped back and held her hands in his “I am surprised that you didn’t notice, we look similar and we will sometimes finish each other’s sentences”. They smiled at each other. She then yawned putting her hand to her mouth to cover it.
“I think you need some sleep, go to bed and we can talk tomorrow” said Merlin.  He gave her a hug before leaving the room. She then walked across to her bed and picked up a book.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose, Gwen, Merlin and the knights were in one of the outlying villages Longstead, a sickness had been plaguing the village and they needed help. Merlin and Gwen were in the hut with sick, while Rose helped the knights pack up as they were going to go back to Camelot to get help from Gaius.  It had been a few weeks since the incident with Gaius and Mordred getting banished. She noticed that Gwaine had been off with her. Usually he’d make an excuse to have a conversation but now he barely spoke to her.
“You alright, you seem quiet” said Elyan.
“Yeah, just thinking” said Rose. They were all finally packed up and ready.

They all got their horses and left the village to go back to Camelot. Not long into their journey they found a camp of bandits wondering about, they looked down into it with interest. Leon put his hand out in a halt. They all stopped and waited for the next order.
“Dismount and muzzle your horses, do not make a sound” whispered Leon. They did as they were told went on foot towards the camp. Rose was along side Merlin.
“Bandits” said Rose and Merlin at the same time quietly. 
“Looks like it” said Elyan to them.
“We’ll skirt their camp, with any luck, we'll reach the plain unnoticed” said Leon. Rose nodded and they all started to slowly walk towards the other side however a scream distracted them all, it sounded really creature like.
“Over there!” shouted Gwaine. He ran into the bandit camp and everyone didn’t have a choice they ran after Gwaine and started to fight the bandits. Rose and the knights killed a few before the rest of the bandits ran away screaming.

Rose laughed and looked around to make sure everything was okay. She then felt an evil magic in the air, something wasn’t right.
“Over here” called Percival. They went over to him to see he had a creature in his arms. Her jaw dropped, it was horrible looking it looked like a snake with a load of legs and it looked like it either teeth or spikes on their legs.
“I fear we are too late” said Percival. Let it be dead, please let it be dead however as Merlin goes to check on her the eyes of the creature opened revealing a horrible yellow colour and it started screaming loudly.  Gwen came over to the group keeping her voice soothing and untied the things while Percival held it. The thing settled down as Percival looked in its yellow eyes.
“Don’t touch it” said Rose. Two of its many legs were tied up, leave it tied up. She noticed the fact everyone else was looking at the creature in pity.

They were seeing something else; Rose was the only one to see the creature and it was terrible. Gwen came over to the group keeping her voice soothing.
“It’s okay, I’m Gwen, what’s your name” said Gwen. She bent forward to untie her, but Rose put her arm out.
“Don’t Gwen, it’s dangerous” said Rose suddenly as she attempted to stop Gwen touching the creature. Leon pulled her back as she struggled.  She couldn’t be allowed to move; she was evil, and it was emitting evil magic around the place.
“Lamia, my name is Lamia” said the thing. The voice that came out of the creature was girl like. Not the horrible growl she had expected.

The voice didn’t match the body. Lamia, Lamia she had heard of that before. Merlin left to go get medical supplies. She was aware that the group were talking as she tried to remember where she had heard of a Lamia before.
“Your hand” said Merlin attempting to help but she started screaming again. Leon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him before drawing her attention to the creature.
“Don’t touch it Merlin, we need to tie it up again, she’s evil” said Rose suddenly not caring how mad she sounded. She got the ropes of the ground and approached the thing again.

It screamed and shouted. Elyan and Gwaine both got either side of her and held her still. Merlin and Gwen staring at her in amazement.
“Enough! Are you fit to ride?” asked Leon. The creature nodded. Rose was repulsed as it sat there in Percival’s arms. Before anyone could move, Rose interjected.
“No, she is not coming with us, she is evil” shouted Rose breaking free of Gwaine and Elyan, she got hold of the ropes again. She knelt and attempted again to get the flailing creature tied up, it let out a terrible scream “you are a magical creature! And you will not get to harm my friends!”.
“Someone shut her up!” shouted Percival attempting to push her away and comfort the screeching thing. Crack! And there was a blinding pain in her head. She looked around to see Leon was holding a thick branch.
“Ouch” mumbled Rose before everything turned black.

Merlin looked at Leon with shock as he caught Rose before, she hit the floor. He checked her head and was shocked to see blood pouring from a wound on her head.
“Was that necessary” argued Merlin.
“Let’s go before they return” said Leon. Everyone nodded as they stood up, Merlin carrying Rose while Percival carried Lamia. Merlin laid her gently on the horse he was leading. He looked at the girl on Percival’s horse with a lot of suspicion, Rose had always been able to see through enchantments like this. They stopped not that far away from the bandits.
“We’ll stop here for the night” said Leon. Merlin nodded and walked further.

He then got Rose off the horse and walked forward with her in his arms. Lamia screamed as Rose was walked past her, Percival pushed Merlin back.
“Stay away, and keep her away” snapped Percival he then picked Lamia and carried her away.
“Merlin leave her and deal with the horses” said Leon.
“She needs help” said Merlin. Walking her into the camping spot, he laid her down before going to sort the horses so that they were safe. He got back to the camp and got on to his knees next Rose to check on her.
“Can you hear me, open your eyes if you can hear me” said Merlin.
“Don’t wake her up she scares me” said Lamia.
“Yeah leave her and do something useful” said Percival.
“No, I will not just leave her, she is the kings ward and your fellow knight,” said Merlin. Gwen came over with some herbs and a bandage from Merlin’s medical bag “thanks Gwen”. They patched her up to the best of their ability.

The next morning, they all woke up except Rose who was laying pale, Gwen made breakfast as Merlin checked over Rose. Once the food was ready, she gave the bowls out to people. Lamia flinched and shook her head. Gwen put the bowl down in front her before walking across to Merlin and Rose.
“She still won’t eat, she’s got no appetite poor girl” said Gwen, she looked across at the still unconscious Rose next to Merlin “has she still not woken up, why do you think she was scared of Lamia”. Merlin shook his head and was shrugged. What was he meant to say because she is a high priestess? He was about change her bandage when Leon spoke.
“Pack your bags we ride east with the rising sun” said Leon. Merlin looked around in shock, that was not the way home.
“Wait, East, Camelot is West from here” said Merlin.
“Lamia has asked that we take her home” said Elyan.

A flash happened and a tree branch fell not far from them. Merlin looked down at his sister her eyes were twitching slightly.
“No, we need to get Gaius, she’s not regained consciousness yet and I fear she is getting worse” said Merlin.
“Gaius and Rose can wait” said Gwaine angrily.
“We were sent to help the people of Longstead. Their lives depend on it, well if Leon hadn’t knocked her out, she wouldn’t be unconscious,” said Merlin. He looked down at Rose again her black hair made her look even paler.
“You dare to question our judgment? You are not a knight! You're not even a physician! You're nothing but a servant! Come on” shouted Leon. Another branch snapped near by as it fell from a tree.           “Can I at least sort her bandage out” asked Merlin feeling confused.
“No! We go now” shouted Leon.
“Please! Listen! Merlin's right, we have to get back to” said Gwen.
“Shut up Gwen this is nothing to do with you” shouted Elyan. They packed up camp and Rose was laid on the front of Merlin’s horse. They started their journey quickly.

Rose came to with a groan; her head was killing her, and she was on a horse laid across the front of a horse and it was highly uncomfortable. Nausea was swirling around in her stomach. She stayed still hoping she could regain control.
“Rose can you hear me” asked Merlin’s voice from above her. She nodded and shut her eyes to avoid the blurred vision.
“You guys really didn’t need to knock her out” said Gwen.
“She was upsetting our guest” said Gwaine.
“Can we stop, I am going to be sick!” said Rose as her stomach lurched and she supressed a gag. The horse was suddenly stopped, and she was helped down. She was then directed to the nearest bush. Where she immediately threw up.
“It’s okay, breathe” said Gwen’s voice in her ear as she choked on a bit. She breathed deeply the sick feeling horrible.

She then felt a hand rub her back. She straightened up and looked around both Gwen and Merlin were by her side, she was surprised, they were heading east, how long had she been out for.
“Stop that! Set up camp!” ordered Leon pulling Merlin from Rose. Gwen was sat with her now but after a few minutes Gwen was dragged away from her to. Rose got up and followed the group, they were in a circle of trees.
“Why are we heading East?” questioned Rose.
“We are taking Lamia home” said Elyan.
“I want to go home” said Rose holding her head as she sat down against the tree. There was a blur of shouting. Which didn’t make a lot of sense. Leon and Gwaine were arguing. She looked across to see the creature standing there, looking ready to poise, it seemed to get energy from their fighting. She wished everything was sorted, they all went to sleep except Elyan who was taking the first watch.

There was a noise which woke up Rose, she looked around and saw Lamia go into the woods. She followed her until they were in a clearing.
“I can see who you are” said Rose into the creature’s head.
“I gathered that earlier, threatening to tie me up, is that anyway to treat another high priestess, I know everything, I can see into your head, Morgana, Mordred, you call to them whilst unconscious, your magic is advanced, however I now know who Kara is, once I have finished here I can pay Ealdor a visit” said Lamia into her head. Rose punched her in the head and got her sword.
“You will stay away!” shouted Rose out loud by accident.
“Get away from her” said Elyan she turned around quickly to see that Elyan was standing behind her. Before she could say anything, he punched her in the face which knocked her over.
“Ouch, stop, help” shouted Rose. He carried on hitting her until everything went black.

The next morning everyone in the camp were waking up slowly except Lamia who had already been awake.
“Elyan, Rose!” called Leon.
“He was supposed to be on guard, he should have woken us up long before now, Elyan” called Gwen.
“Rose” called Merlin out loud and then he did the telepathic message as well to no answer.
“Gwen stay with Lamia, the rest of you come with me” said Leon. They all went into the woods except Gwen and Lamia.
“Don’t worry, they’ll find your ward and your brother soon enough” said Lamia. Gwen looked at her in surprise.

It didn’t take long for Percival, Gwaine and Leon to find them both. Both Leon and Percival carried Elyan as Gwaine picked up Rose over the shoulder. When they got back to camp.
“Oh, God, Elyan” shouted Gwen running over to her brother. Gwaine bought Rose further into the clearing.
“Rose!” said Merlin. Lamia looked across to Gwaine, he immediately put her on the ground without warning she landed hard on the ground. Merlin ran over to her and knelt next to her.
“What happened” demanded Gwen.
“We don’t know, we found them together” said Leon. Gwen went over to Merlin, knelt next to him.
“Merlin, it was her, I know it was” said Gwen desperately.

He looked down at his sister to see her eye was bruised shut and she looked unwell. He put a hand to her head and felt it raging with fever. He then stood up and faced the knights.
“We need to get them back to Gaius” said Merlin.
“The girl had it coming, worming her way into the royal household through a witch” said Gwaine. Lamia stood up and looked at the group of men that were obsessed with her.
“I know this area. There is a castle not far from here. We could take shelter there. you could tend to your friends” said Lamia.
“Lead the way” said Leon.

Rose groaned as she came around again her whole body was sore as she opened her eye that wasn’t fused shut. She gagged and, in a shot, Merlin was helping her roll onto her side to throw up. She finished and rolled on to her other side. Her magic was sending out a distress signal now she could sense it.
“We don't need shelter, thank you. We need Gaius” said Merlin.
“He’s right” said Gwen.
“It’s her, it’s the Lamia she has enchanted them all, she is a magical creature from the old religion half woman half snake” said Rose getting up slowly and she swayed as she stood.
“You liar!” shouted Percival all off the enchanted men circled around her, they were all standing over her. One of them slapped her hard so she fell to the ground.
“Stop it!” shouted Gwen standing in front of her defensively.

They pushed her out of the way and to the ground. 
“Silence! All of you! You have no say in these matters! You come with us, or you stay here. It’s up to you. Let’s go,” shouted Leon.
“No, I don’t want her to come!” shrieked Lamia pointing at Rose.
“Okay, let’s leave her” said Leon simply.
“No, we can’t” said Gwen and Merlin.
“Shut up and learn your place” said Leon. She hated hearing him say this, it was horrible. It was really bad; they had done a lot for Camelot. Rose looked at Merlin.
“Leave me, I’ll find Arthur, or he’ll find me” said Rose into his head. He looked at her nodded.
“Gwaine doesn’t like you very much already thinks you’re a traitor, Ealdor will be next after I have killed your precious once and future queen, before that I will pay a visit to Morgana” said the creature into her head.
“Morgana could take you on any day” said Rose into her head.
“What about your precious Kara do you think she is a match for me, I have been in your head and I know who you cannot stand to lose” said the creature into her head.

Rose got up again and got her sword. She went into the last of her energy and ran towards the creature ready to run her through with her sword, threatening the people in her life was not going to happen. She dodged past people as they attempted to get her. Lamia screamed and Percival got in front of her. She dodged him but didn’t manage to dodge Gwaine who hit her dead in the nose. She fell backwards and the energy dwindled, and she passed out.
“Let’s go! We are leaving the girl!” shouted Leon. They carried off Elyan, Merlin place Rose on her side before he was dragged away by Gwaine.

Rose came around a sometime later her head was feeling worse than before. She got up slowly and touched her nose. The dickhead has broken her nose. She felt dizzy and sick, but she needed to find Arthur. She couldn’t do the Aswindan spell in case she passed out mid journey. She felt hot and cold at the same time. She probably had a fever, well isn’t that great. She looked down at herself, she was covered in blood and mud. She heard hoofbeats coming from somewhere it was close. Rose moved back into the woods and hid behind a tree. What if it was the knights come to finish her off? She knew they were enchanted but it hurt, she was now wondering through the woods with a gash in her head, a broken nose and a black eye because of them.
“It's impossible. They can't have just disappeared” said Arthur.

Rose was so happy to hear his voice, she let a tear fall down her face. She walked closer to the path but was moving too slowly.
“Could be that we're following the wrong tracks, my lord. Any number of people pass through these woods” said Agravaine. Rose was closer but she was in the trees so they couldn’t see her, but she could see them.
“It was them, I know it” said Arthur.
“Maybe we should go back to Longstead, try again in the morning” said Agravaine.
“By morning they could all be dead” said Arthur irritably.
“They are knights of Camelot, my lord, more than capable of looking after themselves” said Agravaine. Rose couldn’t risk them going without her being found. She needed to tell them what was happening.
“You are forgetting something; Rose and Gwen are with them” said Arthur. Rose finally made it on to the path.
“One out of two isn’t bad” said Rose her voice slurring. Arthur got off his horse quickly and ran over to her she fell into him he caught her now she was safe the adrenaline that she had been running on was starting to ebb away, she needed to tell them it came out in small bursts “Lamia enchanted knights, a castle nearby, a castle nearby, Elyan unconscious, in danger, hurts”. He scooped her up and carried her to the horses.
“It’s okay, you’ll be okay, Agravaine will take you to Gaius” said Arthur soothingly he held her up as Agravaine got her into position on the horse. She flopped forward however Agravaine pulled her back and leant her against him she shut her eyes and passed out.

Rose awoke sometime later; she was being held in someone’s arms still. She felt better than she had done before. She could hear voices around her, she groaned and opened her eyes as she was taken off the horse and into Agravaine’s arms again.
“Come on, bring her here” said Gaius’s voice. She was carried into a house and was laid down on a bed. She had been propped her on some cushions, so she was half sat up. She was struggling to think straight.
“Lamia, knights” said Rose quietly.
“It’s alright Arthur has gone to get them, just relax” said Agravaine.
“Lord Agravaine, I need space to work, please wait outside” said Gaius. Agravaine gave Gaius a dirty look before leaving the house “lets look at you then”.

He did some checks on Rose, looking at her from head to toe asking permission every time he had to examine more personal places. After he was done, he looked at her.
“So, will I live” asked Rose.
“Yes, I need to set some of your ribs because they are broken, wrap up your head which is infected, you do have a slight fever” said Gaius he put his hand on her shoulder and she put her head on his hand “what happened?”. Rose explained to him what happened with the knights and Merlin.
“Gwaine can’t think I am a traitor, does he?” said Rose.
“Hey, don’t worry about this” said Gaius. He got a cloth and put a potion on the cloth “I need to knock you out, to set your ribs back to normal” He put the cloth to Rose’s face with one hand and with the other hand he stroked his fingers through her hair “breathe it in, don’t fight it”.

Rose passed out as she let the drug take effect. She awoke not long later still in the house but this time it was Agravaine sitting next to her. She sat up so she was sat up against the wall.
“Do you need anything?” asked Agravaine.
“No thank you, is there any news on the Lamia, it was making threats against everyone including Morgana” said Rose.
“Morgana would be more than a match for the Lamia, anyway it has taken a lot persuading to not have her come and track you, Arthur killed it with Gwen’s help, Gaius is checking on the knights, was it the Lamia that did all the bruises” asked Agravaine.

Arthur came in then and came across to the bed. He sat down at the end of the bed.
“No, nothing was the Lamia, let me pinpoint who gave me what bruises and wounds” said Rose both men nodded, she pointed to the gash on the back of her head “this one is Leon knocking me out with a a large branch” she pointed to her ribs and the black eyes “this was Elyan after I dared confront the Lamia, oh my nose got broken by Gwaine”.
“I’ll kill them” said Arthur angrily.
“Don’t they didn’t mean to” said Rose.
“They didn’t mean to raise their hand to you” questioned Arthur.
“They weren’t in control of their actions, the Lamia enchanted them” said Rose she looked at him and smiled. He smiled back before pulling her into a hug.

Later, that day they headed back to Camelot and once they arrived back. Rose went to her chambers straight away giving Gwen the afternoon off, and immediately ran herself a bath. She had a long bath before getting into casual clothes. There was a knock at the door, she answered the door.
“Prince Arthur requests your presence in his chambers” said Gwaine. She nodded and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders before going to her guardian’s chambers.

Gwaine walked with her looking sheepish.
“The Lamia mentioned to me that you thought I was a traitor, is this true?” asked Rose, she needed to know.
“I wouldn’t say a traitor, I was suspicious how did you know Gaius was captured” said Gwaine.
“I was hunting nearby Ealdor and I saw a traveller who told me, so we went straight there” said Rose. Gwaine looked at her and gave her an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, come here” said Gwaine putting his arms out, she hugged him, and he hugged her back tightly, they broke apart and carried on walking “to make up for it, I’ll escort you to Ealdor”.

 Rose nodded happily. They arrived at Arthur’s chambers, and she knocked and entered the room. Arthur was in there with Gwen.
“You wanted to see me?” asked Rose.
“Yes, are you alright?” said Arthur.
“I am thanks to Gwen and Merlin, they both really saved me back there” said Rose. Gwen wrapped her arm around Rose’s shoulder.
“I was happy to protect you, sorry about the knights hurting you, I did try to stop it” said Gwen.
“It’s alright, it’s no one fault except Lamia” said Rose. Arthur came over them both and pulled them both into a hug.
 

The end

Chapter Text

Gwaine stuck to his word and took Rose to Ealdor the next week. He then left her promising to come and get her in a weeks’ time, however he didn’t arrive in the week. She waited a bit longer, Gwaine came about two weeks later with Percival to come and get her. On the day they came to get her, she was sat with Mordred and Kara in Mordred’s house. Kara jumped slightly out of nowhere and looked at Rose with alarm.
“What’s wrong?” asked Rose.
“I got a sense, a feeling; my druid camps shrine has been disturbed” said Kara she shivered and then chucked herself at Rose, bursting into tears. She caught her and hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay, shush, I’ll find out who did and fix it” soothed Rose. After a while poor Kara calmed down and Gwaine and Percival arrived. She said her goodbyes before going off with Percival and Gwaine.

On the journey back to the main group she was told what she had missed. Arthur and Gwen nearly got married but then Lancelot came back, and they had a kiss. Gwen was now banished. She stared at them both with shock and confusion. She always seemed to miss the important things.  As she came into the clearing where Merlin, Arthur and the other knights. Merlin looked distressed and freaked out. Arthur looked distant and upset with something. As soon as he saw her walk towards him, and he came over to her and hugged her quickly before keeping her on his arm. They walked to the horses and Rose noticed they were one short before she could even mention it or suggest walking, she was scooped up by Arthur and put on his horse. He jumped behind her on the horse in a swift movement grabbing the reigns by wrapping both his arms around her waist.

They started to ride back to Camelot and Rose changed her position slightly so she could look at Arthur and was supported by his arm.
“Arthur are you okay?” asked Rose quietly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” muttered Arthur to her.
“You haven’t let go of me since I saw you” Muttered Rose. 
“Let’s just say I have had a bad week” muttered Arthur. He went quiet again, and Rose straightened again so she wasn’t leant on his arm. They arrived back in Camelot in the evening, and they got off the horse. Arthur took her hand and they walked towards the castle. When they got to the door Arthur turned to face his manservant.
“Merlin don’t come to my chamber for a while I want some time alone with Rose” said Arthur officially.
“Does that mean I have some time off” asked Merlin.
“Yes, now go do whatever you do in your spare time” said Arthur. He walked to his chambers taking Rose with him. She didn’t protest as he needed the company for some reason.

They went into his chambers and sat down at on the seat in front of his bed area. He looked her sadly.
“Come on what’s wrong? I am sorry to hear about Gwen” asked Rose.
“I guess the knights filled you in about it then” said Arthur. Arthur then started to tell about all she had missed and his feelings over it all. Then he started to talk about an old druid camp that they had been to.
“Did anyone disturb the shrine” asked Rose.
“Not that I am aware off” said Arthur. He sighed and looked at her “Merlin was panicking while we were there”. Rose started to play with a hole in the sleeve of her tunic absent mindedly “I’ll get Gwen to fix that”. He then looked at her in shock before his face crumpled and tears fell down his cheeks.

Rose wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head into her shoulder and rubbed his back making shushing noises as he cried into her shoulders he was devastated about Gwen; Rose felt the guilt burn inside her. Eventually he hugged back. He soon got a grip of himself and got up and sat down at his table.
“Do you want me to go?” asked Rose. Wanting to know if he wanted privacy after loosing control like that.
“Yes, you can go, thank you” said Arthur. Rose went over to him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind. 
“You don’t need to thank me for comforting you, you’re my friend and guardian” said Rose. She kissed the top of his head before leaving the room. She walked down the corridor her mind was active. How had Lancelot come back from the dead? She had a feeling she knew the answer and that caused her guilt to intensify. She walked to Gaius’s chambers and walked into the room.

Merlin and Gaius were sat at their table. She sat down to join them sitting next to Merlin.
“What on earth has been going on? What happened with Lancelot? How did he come back from the dead?” asked Rose.
“You’re not so lovely friend and fellow high priestess bought him back from the dead and made him a wraith, Gwen was enchanted by a bracelet and he found them kissing” said Merlin.
“Morgana! I had no idea they were even getting engage, I didn’t know any of this was happening, I hate all this has happened when I was away” said Rose.
“Its not your fault, you are not responsible for Morgana’s action” said Gaius patting her hand.
“My destiny is to protect the once and future queen and I have failed to do that, I am also meant to be the link between dark and light meaning I am meant to stop her doing things, I let this happen” said Rose. Merlin shook his head and wrapped his arm around her.
“Gaius is right don’t worry about it” said Merlin. They had dinner before Rose went to her chambers to have some sleep.

Rose woke up the next day and got herself ready for training  She put on one of Morgana tunics and her leggings before putting on her chainmail and cloak. She walked to the training ground to see everyone was gathered.
“About time you joined us” said Arthur.
“I’m not that late am I” asked Rose.
“Ignore him, he got out the wrong side of the table” said Merlin.
“Right pair up! Concentrate on counter-cutting, Gwaine you’re with me” said Arthur completely ignoring his comment. Rose looked at him he had some find of stew in his hair.
“What’s that in your hair” asked Leon.
“It’s stew” said Merlin.
“Why do you have stew in your hair” asked Rose. Going over to him and picking some out of his hair gently so it was all gone.
“Because he was reading” said Merlin matter of factly. Arthur glared at Merlin.
“Change of plan” said Arthur. He gave Merlin a Camelot shield and helmet “we are going to practice on Merlin”. He went over to Merlin and hit the shield with his sword hard Rose had jolt of fear as Merlin was knocked to the ground. She winced as he got up rubbing his arm.

Elyan approached him and smiled at Merlin. Rose felt a source of magic around him it was weird then she saw him. A small boy was stood next to him soaked to the skin and his lips with were blue. She had seen similar when Uther had been enchanted by a mandrake. He saw her staring at him and raised his eyebrows.
“You see me?” asked the boy in her head.
“Yes, I am high priestess, what are you doing her? Who are you?” asked Rose into the little boys head.
“My name is Jackson, this knight disturbed my resting place, I cannot rest, I died to protect my sister, but I don’t know if she survived” said the boy into her head. It clicked into her head then. This was Kara’s brother; she had felt the shrine be disturbed. She must have felt it stronger because it was her brother’s spirit that was disturbed.
“Your Kara’s brother, she escaped, she was rescued, and I healed her from her wounds” said Rose into his head. She was bought back to reality with a clang. She looked across to see Elyan was beating the seven bells out of the shield that Merlin was hold over his face.  Arthur grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“He’s had enough” said Arthur. The noise or the sound of Arthur’s voice made the kid disappear as if he was scared.

The rest of the training went without much incident and lasted the whole day. Rose went back to her chamber to get changed out of her dirty clothes into one of her dresses She smiled at the dress before making her way to Arthur’s chambers for dinner. She walked in to see he was looking out the window looking sad.
“Arthur?” questioned Rose. He looked across to her and gave a soft smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Merlin just gone to get us some dinner,” said Arthur.
“Nice, is there a reason your staring out the window” asked Rose.
“I like to watch my subjects; I am king after all” said Arthur. Rose went over to him and put her arm around his waist. Merlin arrived with dinner and they both sat down and ate while Merlin did chores around the room. Eventually they were both done, and Merlin took the plates away.

 Arthur went back to his position at the window and looked out it he was looking sombre. Rose stayed at the table unsure of what to do. That was quickly answered with the return of Merlin.
“Would you like me to make up the bed, sire, or will you be sleeping on the table again?” asked Merlin with a grin on his face. Arthur didn’t acknowledge his words just looked gloomily out the window “Is this about Gwen?” that got his attention he turned to face Merlin looking slightly angry and sad “we all miss her, you more than anyone”. Rose would bet a crown she knew what was going to be said next and she was right.
“You can go now” said Arthur. Rose got up and started to walk towards the door.
“Arthur…” said Merlin.
“Get out!” shouted Arthur. He looked across to Rose walking towards the door “no you stay Rose, Merlin get out”.

Rose shrugged and gave Merlin a sympathetic smile as he left the room. She sat down at Arthur’s table again.
“You didn’t need to shout at him” said Rose.
“He knows bringing up Gwen hurts me” said Arthur.
“He’s trying to be a friend” said Rose. She saw something on his desk it’s looked official “here come read this and take your mind off it”. Arthur came over and sat down at the table opposite her and started to read the parchment. He looked up like he remembered something.
“Do you need any new clothes at all” asked Arthur. Rose nodded, had he noticed her weight gain or was he just interested.
“Yes please, I need them a bit bigger at the moment, I think I am growing still” said Rose.
“I should have noticed that, ah Gwen would deal with that kind of thing” said Arthur. Rose reached out and grabbed the top of his hand.
“Hey, its fine, don’t be so hard on yourself” said Rose. He smiled at her and then continued to read. Rose bought her hand back and found a book.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while Arthur reading his parchment, Rose was reading a book she had found on knight’s stuff. They heard a movement and Elyan walked into the room looking dazed. He had a sword on his hip. They both jumped as he was stealthy in the way he came in.
“Elyan you startled us” said Arthur. He carried on standing there looking at them blankly.
“Everything alright” asked Rose. He took his sword out “what the hell are you doing”. He swung it at Arthur nearly taking his head off, he swerved to avoid it. He then rolled away as Elyan stabbed towards him he stabbed the floor. Rose ran to grab her sword by ducking around him she then got her sword and ran back to the fight and at the right time because Arthur decided to fight a sword with a stool chair leg.
“Guards” called Arthur. Rose caught the blow with the sword and the two of them fought while Arthur ran out to get the guards.
“Elyan, stop, what has gotten into you” said Rose as he became more aggressive with his fight.
“He needs to answer for his crimes” said Elyan.

Rose caught the blows and not wanting to harm her friend. He did a move which made her drop her sword, he kicked it away and advanced on her she backed away before tripping on the stupid stool leg that discarded, she landed straight on her back and immediately felt winded. Arthur came back in and picked up a better stool and ran so he was between the two of them. He threw the stool and went to grab him, but he ran away out the door chased by the guards. Arthur turned and helped her up.
“Are you okay?” asked Arthur putting his hands on her shoulders.
“Yes, I am fine, a bit winded” said Rose breathlessly. Agravaine came in and looked shocked. Arthur told him what happened.
“Take her to see Gaius, she seems to be struggling to catch her breath, alert Merlin and speak to the knights, I want him found” said Arthur official.
“I’m fine, I just need a minute” said Rose breathlessly still.
“You are going to Gaius” said Arthur. She huffed and went with Agravaine before he got any ideas of attempting to pick her up or drag her there.

She walked to Gaius’s chambers with Agravaine walking alongside her. She entered the room and sat down on his patient bed. Gaius and Merlin came over when they saw how breathless she was.
“What’s happened” asked Gaius.
“Elyan attacked Arthur I managed to hold him off while Arthur got help, he knocked me over and I landed on my back hard and I am a bit winded but Arthur insisted you check me over” said Rose.

Merlin ran out the room followed by Agravaine. Gaius nodded and checked her over.
“You seem okay, no damage you just have to wait for your breath get back” said Gaius kindly he finished up and sat down at his desk. She went into the kitchen area and made them a cup of tea before sitting down opposite Gaius.
“Elyan is being possessed by a spirit called Jackson” said Rose.
“Oh, do you see him, I did wonder” asked Gaius.
“Yes, I see him, I wish I didn’t he’s a child” said Rose shuddering and she felt sick suddenly. Gaius got up and went over to his potion’s cabinet. He got a potion bottle and came back to the table.
“I want you to take this, it’ll calm your nerves,” said Gaius. She took it and shot it immediately. She felt a lot calmer in herself, she gagged at the taste, but the effects of the potions were great.
“I think I need to lie down” said Rose feeling like her head was heavy.
“Yeah you will, get yourself to your chambers” said Gaius. Rose nodded and smiled at him before walking to her chambers. She laid down on the bed without changing her clothes and fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next day feeling sick, she immediately threw up into a pot by her bed. That was weird maybe it was something she ate. She wiped her mouth and magicked the pot clean. She then got up and washed before getting into a tunic and leggings. She put on her knight’s cloak over the tunic to hide the tightness of her tunic and made her way to Gaius’s chambers. She entered the room and went across to the book self and took a load of books from the shelf and sat down opposite Gaius.
“Do we know how to get Jackson peace” asked Rose.
“It’ll take powerful magic to get him out of Elyan,” said Gaius.
“But then what’ll happen to Jackson, will it hurt him” asked Rose.
“He’ll be expelled from Elyan and go back to being a restless soul, it will hurt him, but it is worth it,” said Gaius.
“No, he’s just a child, there has got to be another way” said Rose.

She then started to read a book about the druids. She couldn’t let Kara’s brother be in any more pain than he was. She read for a while until Merlin came into the room.
“Agravaine is pushing for Elyan’s execution” said Merlin.
“Arthur may not have a choice to not execute him” said Gaius.
“We can’t let that happen” said Rose and Merlin together.
“I wish you two wouldn’t do that its unnerving” said Gaius raising his eyebrow at them both he then looked at them both “what would you have us do”.
“Expel the evil spirit from Elyan” said Merlin. Rose rolled her eyes and felt annoyed at that statement how could a child be evil.
“It would require powerful magic” said Gaius.

Rose felt even more annoyed at that, he was a child that didn’t deserve to go on as a spirit.
“Oi, he not evil he’s a child, Jackson didn’t ask to be drowned in a well there for you shouldn’t be expelling him from Elyan” said Rose with annoyance.
“Oh, you see him when he appears to Elyan” said Merlin.
“Yes, and he is Kara’s older brother, he died so she wouldn’t die” said Rose. She slammed her book shut and got up angrily “find a painless way to get Jackson out”. She then stormed out of the room taking the book with her because she knew she could concentrate better without those two deciding to use a torturous way to expel the spirit from Elyan. She went to her chambers and laid down in bed. She read for a couple more hours before nodding off her head on the book.

Rose was awoken by the warning bell sometime later she looked at the window to see it was pitch black outside. She left her chambers and ran down the corridor carefully with her sword. She met with a group of knights.
“What’s happened?” asked Rose.
“Sir Elyan has escaped my lady” said one of the knights. She nodded before running down the corridor and using her tracking, she focused on Merlin and she found him quick enough in her mind. She ran down corridors and ran out of the castle. She carried on running until she made it to the woods. Elyan was stood holding a waterskin looking suspiciously at Merlin.

Behind him was Jackson standing there shaking his head. Rose came over and looked at the druid boy.
“Rose, what are you doing here” asked Elyan with confusion.
“I am here to help; I want to help you and I want to help Jackson” said Rose.
“How do you know his name?” asked Elyan.
“Rose go now” said Merlin suddenly. Jackson shook his head at his, looking distressed and upset with the idea of her leaving.
“I don’t want her to go” said Jackson the words were creepy as he looked so upset.
“Sorry about this Merlin” said Elyan
“Sorry about what” said Merlin. Elyan didn’t answer but knocked Merlin around the head with his water skin. Rose knelt down next to Merlin to check him over, but she could even touch him the water skin connected to her head, she fell backwards, and everything went black.

Rose came around later and it was daylight. She looked around she was in a druid camp with flags all around making a shrine for the camp. She sat up and healed her own head quickly she didn’t have time for a headache. She looked across to Elyan and Jackson who were sat near her.
“You didn’t need to knock me out” said Rose.
“I was worried you wouldn’t come if you were asked” said Elyan. Jackson got up and went up over to her. Rose got up to and was surprised when the kid hugged her tightly.
“You healed my sister; I will be forever thankful. How old is she now” asked Jackson.
“She has just turned 12, even though she is a few years young than me I see her like a daughter” said Rose.
“Can you bring her to me?” asked Jackson smiling softly at the idea that she was looked after and being cared for.
“I can, I will use the Aswindan spell, will it help you if you see her?” said Rose.
“Yes I need to see for myself that she is safe” said Jackson. Rose nodded and got down to his level and put her hand on his soaking wet shoulder, he was so cold it stung her hand.
“Be good and stay out of trouble until I get back” said Rose. She stepped back and looked across at Elyan “I have magic, but I only use it for the good of the kingdom, Jackson can explain it to you”. She then shut her eyes “Aswindan ae Ealdor”. She felt the flying sensation as she flew through the air.

Rose landed on the outskirts of Ealdor and went into the village quickly. She looked around everything seemed to be normal which was weird. It was so weird how her week was being very weird, but everything was going on. Life went on as normal.
“Kara, where are you?” called Rose in her head.
“I am in our house” said Kara into her head. She smiled and ran across to their house. She walked in to see Mordred was making some healing potions. While Kara was sat at the table watching the door. Rose hugged them both before telling them about Jackson and Elyan.
“He isn’t the murdering type I don’t understand” said Kara. Rose felt a squeeze on her heart as she heard Kara protect her brother as he had protected her. She took her hand and pulled her into her side.
“No, he isn’t himself, the way he died has affected him, spirits that are stuck in this world become angry, come on let’s go see Jackson” said Rose. She looked across to Mordred as he put on his coat, she gave him a questioning look “what are you doing?”.
“I am coming with you, I am a druid, I’ll be able to help” said Mordred.
“Okay but if the Camelot knights turn up, I want you to hide do you understand” said Rose.

Mordred nodded and she went over to him giving him a kiss on the cheek. She picked up Kara and held on to her tightly “Kara hold on tightly, Mordred hold on to me, neither of you worry if you feel sick”. Kara held on to her tightly and Mordred wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly “shut your eyes”. She shut her eyes and used the Aswindan spell. Again, she felt herself flying through the air. They landed on the ground in the shrine, immediately Mordred dropped to his knees and started to gag. She gently put down Kara and started to rub circles in his back. She looked around before sitting down on the ground. They sat down on the ground waiting for Elyan and Jackson to come back. 

They waited for a long while until Elyan and Jackson came back. They came into the camp and Kara got up and ran over to her brother. They hugged each other tightly.
“You’re so cold” said Kara. Rose and Mordred went over to them both. She put her hand on Elyan’s shoulder.
“Are you okay” asked Rose.
“Apart from being followed around by the spirit of a child and finding out there is a sorcerer in Camelot I’m great” said Elyan.
“I am not a sorcerer I am a high priestess and I have only ever used it for good, I have saved Camelot and Arthur’s life so many times” said Rose.
“Why would you save the man that would see you dead” said Jackson.
“Arthur is not his father, he has shown me nothing but kindness and love, he made me a knight and he trusts me” said Rose. Mordred and Kara were looking at her with interest whereas Elyan and Jackson looked disgusted, he started to cough up water and shivering. Rose went over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. He shivered and then glowed she stepped back pulling Kara with her.
“I can’t control this, I want to avenge my death, I can’t rest” said Jackson coughing he then disappeared, and the light went into Elyan. He dropped to his knees and started to drip water from himself.
“What’s happened?” asked Kara in a panicked voice.
“He’s possessing Elyan, his physical form is weak” said Rose.
“I am going to go kill the king” said Jackson’s voice from Elyan’s mouth.

He then turned to face them he put his hand out to them.
“We will stay here on our own accord; don’t you dare tie us up” said Rose in a voice full of authority, he looked at her and nodded.  He walked out of the clearing leaving them alone. Rose sat down on the ground and pulled Kara towards her, so she was curled up on her lap, she then felt Mordred come and sit behind her wrapping his arms around her. She enjoyed the comfort and squeezed his hand.
“Well hopefully Elyan can’t remember anything, or I’ll being saying hello to the stake or noose” said Rose.
“We won’t let that happen” said Mordred and Kara together.

They waited a long time for Elyan to get back, she was wondering whether or not go hunting and get them something to eat, she decided not to because she didn’t want him to come back and assume she had gone back to Camelot. It was nightfall when Elyan came back into the camp. He was looking tired and upset.
“My plan to kill the king was unsuccessful, he knows I have you, he was going to kill me, so I told him if he killed me he’d never see you again, it was Arthur that did this to me he lead the attack on a peaceful people” said Jackson’s voice through Elyan’s mouth it was so creepy.

She felt a shiver go down her spine. She stood up and went over to her very wet and cold friend. She hugged him wetting her dress, she was soaked.
“It’s okay, chances are he’ll be come here and get me” said Rose.
“Wait I can sense something” said Kara. She got up and she was right. There was noise coming into the druid shrine.
“I am here! That what you want!” called Arthur.
“Mordred hide!” said Rose into his head. He did as he was told and went into the trees. He hid behind a tree watching their every move. Elyan grabbed Kara and Rose pulling them in front of him using them a human shield she didn’t like it. She struggled and so did Kara wanting to get away from his hands.  Arthur and Merlin stared at them with shock.
“My blood is on your hands. I cannot rest because of what you did” said Jackson’s voice.
“I know, let my ward and the child go, you have got me let them go” said Arthur.

They stood staring at each other for a minute before Elyan let go of them both, Rose grabbed Kara’s hand before they ran over to Merlin. He looked Rose up and down and hugged her.
“The child is my sister, I let her live, I gave my life for hers and I would do it again” said Jackson voice. Arthur nodded and knelt down on the ground; he had a lot of sorrow in his eyes.
“I am responsible for what happened to you. And for all the violence that happened here. When I led the attack on your camp, I was young and inexperienced. I was desperate to prove myself to my men, to my...father he was angry with me because it took me too long to find Morgana, so I had his disappointment on my mind” said Arthur crying.

Rose wanted to step forward and hug him tightly but knew he had to do this himself. She pulled Kara to her as she listened to the story of her druid camp being destroyed “I told the men to spare the women and children, but I know that some of them ignored the order. And there was so much happening. I wanted to stop it...I froze. I didn't know what to do” he cried even harder than before. Elyan walked closer to them. Kara started to cry as well, so Rose held her tighter “I can still hear the screams. I cannot right this wrong. Nothing I can ever do will change the horrors that happened that day. But I can promise that, now that I am king, I will do everything that I can to prevent anything like this ever happening again. From this day forth, the Druid people will be treated with the respect they deserve. I give you my word”.

Rose’s jaw dropped he was going to change the law on druids and did that mean he was going to change his mind about magic. She stood and held her breath as Jackson took a sword and stood in front of Arthur her heart pumped hard “I am truly sorry for what happened to you”. Jackson chucked his sword on the ground and helped Arthur up. He then hugged him tightly.
“I forgive you” said Jackson. He stepped back and looked around Arthur “Kara come here”. Rose walked over to him with Kara.
“I am so sorry you died, you died saving me” cried Kara.
“I hold no blame I am at peace now, you grow and become the woman I know you will become” said Jackson he then hugged her and then stepped back. He breathed in and then out the white light came out of his mouth and nose. Jackson and all the spirits in the shrine left the shrine. She smiled as the place lost it’s dark magic. Elyan swayed Arthur moved Kara out the way and caught Elyan as he fainted. He cried as he held Elyan up. Rose held Kara as she cried into her shoulder.

After a while Arthur and Merlin took Elyan away to Camelot and Rose gave a still distraught Kara to Mordred as soon as they were out of sight. She promised to get in touch and see them soon before they left to go back to Ealdor. She then went back to Camelot and as soon as she got back to Camelot, she ran herself a bath, if she was going to be arrested for being a high priestess, she was going to do it clean. She sat in the bath and thought about Mordred and thought about her life in Camelot she didn’t want it to end where would she go. End up joining Morgana, she thought about it she missed Morgana. She finished in the bath and then got into some comfortable clothes before putting on her druid cloak.

She left her room and went to Elyan’s room. He was sat in bed dry and looked better than he had done in the druid shrine.
“I was wondering when I was going to see you” said Elyan he got up and went over to her. He hugged her quickly, then stepped backwards, she stared at him in shock.
“I expected you to be angry” said Rose.
“You tried to save my life, so your secrets are safe with me” said Elyan.
“Thank you, hang on secrets?” asked Rose.
“Your courting a banished druid and you a high priestess, like I said to you your secrets are safe with me” said Elyan. Rose smiled and hugged him again.
“Thank you, get some rest” said Rose. She stepped back and the left the room feeling so much relief it was like air was coming out her. She went back to her chambers and felt for the first time in the last few days things were looking up.

The end

Chapter Text

It had been a few months since Elyan found out about Rose’s magic and courtship to Mordred. He was as good as his word. He kept her secrets and she became closer him. Over the months she had been visiting Morgana and, she had been involved in a lot of council meetings. She enjoyed being involved in the council matters and the Camelot stuff however one of the knights called Benning had taken a dislike for her and would stare at her with mistrust all the time, she would ignore him. She turned 15 in this time and she had a small feast with Arthur and a few knights. She had enjoyed it but had also missed Morgana’s presence. She missed a woman’s touch in her life yes, she had maids, but they weren’t chatty or bothered about her really. She missed having Gwen around acting more like a mother than a maid and she definitely missed Morgana’s presence.

Rose was in her chambers letting a maid do her hair. Arthur was announcing something at court, and he had told her look official when she asked him knight or lady of the court, he had answered lady of the court, so she was following the command. Once her hair was done, she dismissed the maid. She then slipped her shoes on. Right on cue there was a knock on the door. She opened it and Arthur was stood at the door in his kingly clothing. Rose looked at the window.
“Am I late?” asked Rose.
“No, fancy going for a walk,” said Arthur. Rose nodded and walked into corridor he put his arm out to link and she linked his arm and they started to walk down the corridor.
“Come on then what is big announcement” asked Rose.
“I am marrying princess Mithian of Nemeth, don’t mention it to Merlin he doesn’t know yet” said Arthur. Rose had a feeling at that option was going to be available and she didn’t like it, but she had decided to not undermine Arthur he was struggling with his confidence more and more as he became king.
“I am happy for you, Merlin won’t I bet you a crown he’ll confront you in five seconds after leaving the council chambers” said Rose.

They walked around a bit more before Merlin joined them, looking at Arthur. He seemed nervous because he started to talk a lot and without drawing breath.
“I'm not saying it's inappropriate. I mean, you're the king and I'm not, and of course it's your choice, there's no doubt about that. It could hardly be my choice, could it? What with me not being the king. But, nevertheless, I do feel I have to say something because, strictly speaking, these clothes are only supposed to” said Merlin quickly and without drawing breath.
“Merlin” interrupted Arthur. They turned around to face Merlin.
“Yes, my lord,” said Merlin.
“Could you do something for me” asked Arthur.
“Yes anything,” said Merlin.
“Please shut up,” said Arthur. Rose and Arthur then carried on walking to the council chambers, Merlin carried on talking.
“Yes, I can do that. Of course, I can. That's not a prob—” said Merlin.
“NOW” said Arthur and Rose together calling back to him. Rose giggled in amusement before continuing to the council chambers.

 They then entered the council chambers and walked to the front of the room. Rose stood on his right as usual once he had a queen, she would be on his left which she looked forward to it was a lot of pressure being the highest woman of the court.
“My lords, fellow knights, gentlemen, as you are all aware, Camelot’s claim to the lands of Gedref have been in dispute. Today I can announce that, after many months of confidential negotiations, the kingdoms of Nemeth and Camelot have reached an agreement,” said Arthur.  The room began to murmur and mutter everyone seemed to be nervous “There's nothing to fear. It is a fair and honourable agreement that benefits two great kingdoms. Furthermore, our friendship will be cemented by a union that cannot be broken. My hand in marriage to Her Royal Highness, Princess Mithian”.

Rose looked across to Merlin who was staring open mouthed at them. The room exploded with applause, and she smiled joining in a little bit. They then left the room and walked down the corridor.
“One two three” said Rose counting on her hand.  
“How come I didn’t know any of this? How come you didn’t say anything” said Merlin.
“You owe me a crown” said Rose to Arthur he smirked at her before turning around to face his disgruntled man servant.
“That's what "confidential" means, Merlin. Keeping it from blabbermouths like you” said Arthur. Rose saw a flicker of hurt go across Merlin’s face. They turned around to keep going down the corridor.
“I’ll leave you two to it, try not kill or banish each other” said Rose.

She walked away in direction of chambers deciding she didn’t want to be in their middle of the squabbles because that’s what they did a lot. Arthur was having confidence issues that wasn’t helped by his beloved uncle putting seeds of doubt in his mind and Merlin was frustrated with the tug of war he was playing with Agravaine. She went into her chambers and got changed into something more comfortable. She knew Arthur didn’t like it, but she was more comfortable in Morgana’s tunic and leggings than anything else. She got into that and took her hair out the stupid braid out her hair. She looked in the mirror and brushed her hair. Her hand brushed a mirror she picked it up, it was the mirror Morgause had got for Morgana when she was living in Camelot. She had got it for her birthday. She thought about it, that meant that Morgana’s birthday in a few days. Rose spent the rest of the day in the market buying stuff that she knew Morgana would like. She also bought herself some books and went back to the chambers, on her way to her chambers she saw Agravaine was acting suspiciously she rolled her eyes but decided to find out the next day what was going on she was too busy focused on the arrival of Mithian.

Everyone gathered in the courtyard for Mithian’s arrival and soon she was in her fancy dress again standing on Arthurs right in the courtyard. The knights of Nemeth and the princess came into the courtyard the knights in front and Mithian wearing a veil.
“Knights of Nemeth Camelot welcomes you and extends the hands of friendship” said Arthur he looked uncomfortable in his crown and kingly robes. Mithian came forward on her horse and revealed her face. She was a very pretty woman so radiant. She looked across to Arthur to see his jaw had dropped. Arthur walked forward and Rose went with him to make sure he didn’t say anything stupid in front of his future wife that phrase made her stomach turn.

Mithian was helped down from her horse elegantly by one of the knights and Arthur continued forward. Once they made it her Arthur seemed to be too taken in by her beauty to speak.
“Princess Mithian you are most welcome” said Rose. Nudging Arthur back into the real world.
“Thank you, my lady, your highness I heard a lot about you and your handsome in person” said Mithian.
“Uhhh” said Arthur unsure how to take the compliment so he kept opening and shutting his mouth.
“Are we to stand around in the cold all day” asked Mithian. Rose nudged Arthur again and he seemed to become aware of himself again. He nodded and smiled.
“My apologies” said Arthur he took her hand and faced the people on the steps “Tomorrow there will be a great feast to welcome our guests”.  Everyone went inside after the announcement and Rose went to her chambers.

 In the evening she sat and read the new books and wrapped up the presents that she had bought for Morgana. She looked up as there was a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” asked Rose she quickly put the wrapped presents in a bag and chucked it under the bed.
“It’s me Merlin” said Merlin through the door. She smiled and went over to the door.

She opened it and let her in the room, his workload had doubled recently so she had barely seen him much and when she had seen him, he had always been around Arthur. He sat down on her bed while she began to pace.
“I need to find a way to stop this wedding without messing up his confidence” said Rose.
“He won’t listen to reason” said Merlin.
“That’s because Agravaine keeps getting into his head making him doubt himself, I have a feeling that’s not our only problem though” said Rose.
“Why?” asked Merlin.
“Agravaine was acting suspiciously earlier” said Rose.
“I wonder what he’s up to, have you seen Morgana recently, I’ll be busy with the feast preparations” asked Merlin.
“Well I saw her the other day; I think she’s planning something, but she doesn’t want me implicated” said Rose. Merlin got up and took her hand taking her over the bed. He sat them both down and she laid down putting her head on his shoulder.
“I’ll try and stop this wedding you find out what Morgana is up to” said Merlin. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started to stroke the back of her head. This made her sleepy and she fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

Rose woke up the next day early and she was alone, she looked at the window it was dark, she got out of bed and got changed into some casual clothes and her druid cloak, she’d get changed later into something more official for the feast but while she was walking around the castle, she’ll be casual. She walked out her room and saw Agravaine was sneaking around the castle. She put up her hood and followed. He went to the stables and got a horse. She followed him on foot not wanting to arouse suspicion.

They arrived at the hovel and Agravaine went into the hovel. Rose went over to the door.
“You’re late, you have my plans” said Morgana.
“There have been some unexpected developments” said Agravaine sounding scared, he had the unfortunate task of telling Morgana about the upcoming marriage. She sniggered without thinking and then decided that her cover was blown. She walked into the hovel and walked across to Morgana she looked stressed out and tired but smiled when she saw Rose.
“I hope your not going to tell me you’ve failed me again” said Morgana.
“Does she know about Nemeth?” asked Rose.
“Yes, I told her recently” said Agravaine. He then turned to Morgana who was glaring at him and looking ready to kill him.

Rose put her hand her shoulder which Morgana put her hand over hers giving it a squeeze “I'm sure there'll be the other opportunities in the future”.
“Camelot grows in power every day, Agravaine. If we don't act now, there will be no future. Particularly for you” said Morgana angrily. Agravaine didn’t look phased at the threats.
“It is not easy, my lady. Plans for the siege tunnels have always been very well protected” said Agravaine.
“And yet you assured me you could bring them to me. Or were you exaggerating?” asked Morgana glaring at him even more.
“No not at all but it will take time…” said Agravaine.
“Enough!” said Morgana interrupting him and about to get up but Rose kept her in her seat squeezing her shoulder.

Morgana breathed deeply using the hand on her shoulder and Rose’s presence to calm her “a man of your standing can go wherever he like”.
“You can say the same about Rose, the kings ward and her other abilities” said Agravaine.
“I am not having her involved, if she gets found out then she’ll be in trouble” said Morgana.
“And I won’t be” said Agravaine. Morgana got up then and looked deep into his eyes.
“Don’t get caught but you are not involving Rose in any of it” said Morgana.
“I am here you know” retorted Rose getting annoyed that they were both talking about her like she wasn’t in the room. Agravaine rolled his eyes.
“We should be heading back” said Agravaine.
“I’ll catch you up” said Rose. Agravaine left the hovel and the hoof beats were loud cantered away on his horse.
“You are not getting involved” said Morgana.
“Can you at least tell me what I am not getting involved” said Rose giving her a big smile and tilted her head.
“I will tell once I have the maps for Camelot” said Morgana. She decided to argue with her, she gave a hug before going after Agravaine.
“Aswindan ae Camelot” said Rose. She shut her eyes quickly and landed in her chambers in seconds, she was lucky the room was empty she didn’t fancy freaking out a maid or anything like that.

A maid walked into the room and smiled at Rose she was carrying a dress on her arm.  This maid was called Marie and relatively new didn’t quite understand how to not act like a servant and have a conversation about anything that wasn’t about her serving Rose and she would take orders from Agravaine and Arthur about how to assist her. She just missed Gwen and wanted her back.
“I got you a new dress for the day” said Marie.
“Thank you, Marie come on let’s get this new dress on” said Rose.
“I hope you like it, it’s more adult than usual but it’s the colour you usual wear” said Marie looking anxious. Rose went behind the screen and Marie handed her the dress.

She understood what she meant by an adult dress. It was a dress where the top of the dress was very to corset design and it was tight without it going tied up yet. She came out from the behind the screen and saw that Marie was looking hopeful she looked like if Rose rejected the dress, it would cause her to have a breakdown. So, she smiled it was a red dress and poor Marie must not understand her hatred for tight things.
“It’s very pretty thank you” said Rose. Marie smiled and curtsied before coming over and starting to do the strings tightening up the dress.

Once she was finished Rose dismissed her and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was so tight she’d have to change it before the feast later. She left the room and walked to the council chambers to see Arthur was sat at the end of the table. She went over and sat down gently. Agravaine was there leaning on a chair. Arthur was reading a letter.
“Look at this” said Arthur giving her a note. Rose read it; it was a note from Odin to the map makers apprentice asking for the maps to the tunnels.
“Have him bought here this instance” said Rose.
“I can’t he’s dead, Young Eoghan was the mapmaker's apprentice. He was a good lad from a decent family” said Agravaine.
“Yet willing to sell his country's secrets for a few pieces of gold” said Arthur.
“And of course, he did have access to the city's most sensitive plans” said Agravaine. 
“The location of the siege tunnels” said Rose.
“I fear so, my lady. And I don't need to tell you what an enemy could do with such plans” said Agravaine. Rose got up slowly and walked towards the door.
“I am going to go check the map room, you two speak to the map maker” said Rose.

She then walked away quickly she went down to the map room. Agravaine was useless at this. She went across to the maps and started to look through them and a few minutes later Arthur and Agravaine joined her.
“No sign of a forced entry” said Agravaine.
“Boy would've had full access. There's no need to break the locks” said Arthur looking around the room.
“A complete inventory will be necessary, my lord. With your permission, I'll start right away” said Agravaine. Rose nodded and went and stood next to Arthur using her eyes to show Agravaine where the maps were. He nodded and Rose smiled before leaving the room. She walked to her chambers and checked the presents under the bed they were safe.

It was Morgana’s birthday the next day and she needed to find an excuse to avoid the Festival of Ostara which had somehow conveniently fell on Morgana’s birthday this year. She could barely think straight in the dress. It was so tight it felt like it was slowly suffocating her.

She sat down and did some reading and writing for a bit. She decided early evening it was time to change her dress but as soon as she was about to send for Marie. Agravaine knocked on her chamber door. She knew it was Agravaine because he had a certain knock.
“Enter” said Rose. Agravaine came in looking pleased with himself.
“I got the maps” said Agravaine.
“Good, I will not be joining you tonight however tell Morgana to expect me tomorrow at noon,” said Rose.
“That’s when the hunt is” said Agravaine.
“Does it look like I follow the rules, now go before you are missed,” said Rose.  She smiled as he walked out the room. There was a knock at the door again and Rose rolled her eyes. She went over to the door and opened it to see Arthur and Mithian standing in front of her.
“Time for the feast,” said Arthur.
“No, it’s not” said Rose she hadn’t had chance to change out of her dress yet. She smiled and linked Arthur’s arm as all three of them walked to the feast.

They walked in and everyone stood up as usual. They sat down and everyone else sat down. She began to eat slowly. Soon the room was full of noise and laughter. She loved the sight of it all. She couldn’t wait to be out of the dress though it was doing her head in. After tonight she was going to burn it and just tell Marie it got lost. Then she’d make sure that she didn’t need a maid in future. She ignored everything that happened around her and concentrated on breathing. Once the food was finished music started up and it was time to dance.

The tables were moved to the side, and everyone got partners for the dance.  She managed to hide herself in the background and avoid dancing. However, she must off known she wouldn’t get out of it that lightly.
“My lady will you have this dance with me” said Gwaine. She turned to look at him and nodded. He took her hand and they moved on to the dance floor. It had to be the fastest dance in the world. She was skipping, twirling and dancing around to quick music. Once the song was finished Rose moved away from Gwaine black spots were dancing in her eyes and she felt winded. She bumped into someone by accident, and she saw she had bumped into Merlin. He spun her round so he look at her closely.
“Are you alright?” asked Merlin in concern. Rose shook her head and put her hand to her chest.
“Can’t catch my breath, take me to my chambers” breathed Rose.

Merlin looked at her a minute and nodded she linked his arm and they slowly walked out the room. As soon as they were in the corridor and out of the sight of the feast, she wrapped her arms completely around his neck she was breathing easier in the cooler corridor, but it was now replaced with a faint feeling “I usually don’t ask but can you carry me, I feel like I am going to faint”. Merlin nodded and scooped her up. He got her to her chambers quickly and she was put back on her feet.
“Are you feeling better now?” asked Merlin.
“I will be in a minute, pick up that knife for me” said Rose. He did as he was told and picked up the knife “now I want you to cut open the back of the dress”. Turning so she was facing the opposite direction he cut the dress as she held it to her.
“I’m done” said Merlin. Rose smiled at him and went behind the screen.
“Chuck me my night dress its on the bed” asked Rose. Merlin went over to her bed and got her nightdress he bought it over to her. Rose got out of the dress quickly and got into her night dress.

Rose came out from behind the screen to notice Merlin was sat on her bed, she went over and sat next to him.
“Tomorrow, I am going to see Morgana for her birthday, can you tell Arthur I am herb picking a rare herb if he asks me where I am” asked Rose. Merlin turned around and gave her an incredulous look.
“Your joking, after everything she has done, you think a few presents and wine will fix what she did, she tortured Gaius, she put a creature in my neck that nearly made me kill Arthur, she goaded Annis to go to war with us and she enchanted Gwen to fall in love with Lancelot again and got her banished” said Merlin.

“Yes I do, you told me to find out what she was planning, how else am I meant to find out, kidnap her and bring her Camelot kicking and screaming, I am the link between you and Morgana so I have to keep her on side, I know what she has done hasn’t been great but she is scared, she has magic and lived in fear for so long, Uther ruined so much with his war against magic” said Rose.
“I know where you’re coming from, but are you up to it, you just nearly fainted” said Merlin.
“I am fine now it’s the dress, it was too tight and then dancing didn’t help” said Rose. He looked her up and down.
“You are still on the pale side, come here” said Merlin he pulled her towards him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she put her head on his chest.
“I don’t want to be going between Camelot and Morgana, I just don’t want her to be alone, she felt like a monster and we both know how that feels and now she feels abandoned” said Rose.
“I know, the weight of destiny can be heavy” said Merlin. He started to stroke the back of her hair and she began to fall asleep.
“I just want her to feel loved” said Rose sleepily.
“Shush” soothed Merlin. She smiled and rubbed her cheek on Merlin’s t-shirt and fell asleep.

Rose woke up the next morning incredibly early and got up straight away, the kitchen would be empty so she could get the stuff together for Morgana’s feast in her hovel. She got dressed into a casual tunic and top and had some fruit before getting her presents together. She went to the kitchen and got some food together and put it in her bag. She then got some wine from the wine cupboard and filled a few water skins of wine. She then left before she was noticed in the kitchens area. She went to her chambers again and got the presents in the bag. It was still early but she had a feeling Morgana would be with the person she is giving the maps to giving her time to prepare the hovel for her birthday. She snuck out the city with her horse and rode her horse to the hovel.

She got of the horse and got her bag and entered the hovel. It was empty so she got to work, soon the hovel was smelling of good food. While the food sizzled on the fire, she got the candles and garlands that were in her bag. She decorated the whole place making it look perfect. It would be better if she were in Camelot and they were having the feast for her birthday. She missed Morgana’s presence in Camelot more than anything at the moment, she missed having a woman in her life in Camelot. Both were now banished, and she wanted them both back. She heard a horn in the distance and knew it the hunting party. She looked out the door to see Morgana coming in the distance. She smiled and went in and hid behind the bed. A few minutes later Morgana came in and her face lit up.
“Surprise!” exclaimed Rose jumping out. Morgana ran over to her and gave a her a long hug.
“I didn’t realise you would remember” said Morgana she pulled her away slightly but held her in an embrace still, a few tears came down her face.
“I would never forget your birthday” said Rose.

She pulled away from Morgana and set up the food on the plates.
“Ooh herb crusted Caper my favourite” said Morgana smiling.
“My thoughts were bring Camelot food to you, because I can’t imagine Arthur doing a truce for you to have your birthday in Camelot” said Rose.
“I appreciate it” said Morgana. They sat and ate food for a bit before sitting by the fire. Rose made shapes in the fire as Morgana watched her with interest. A dragon, a deer, a sparrow taking flight and a bear walking on its all four paws.
“I miss you” said Rose.
“I know, we’ll be together soon” said Morgana. Rose got up and got some cups. She pours wine into both and gave one to Morgana and sat down with her own and taking a sip.
“So what’s the plan” said Rose.
“I can’t tell you too much for now, the plans aren’t complete yet, there will a battle soon” said Morgana.

Rose chatted and drank with Morgana for a long time, towards the end of the evening they had both end up snuggled up on Morgana’s bed. Morgana had her arm around her shoulders and Rose had her arm around her waist head on her shoulder.
“I miss this” said Rose.
“Like I said we’ll be together, thank you, you know how to make a good birthday” said Morgana.
“I wanted you to have a good birthday, I hate it that you’re here all alone with no one but creepy Agravaine as a visitor” said Rose.
“You visit me” laughed Morgana.
“Not as much as Agravaine does, he’s like a dog on heat at times” said Rose. Morgana laughed and moved her hand to the back of Rose’s head and began to stroke it gently.
“What’s that?” asked Morgana. Her hand came across a bump on her head, it had been there since the Lamia incident a few months ago.

Rose hadn’t mentioned what had happened to her to Morgana and had made Agravaine promise not to say anything, she gave her a nervous look Morgana sat her up and examined it “it looks old, who did this, tell me”.
“If I tell you I need you to keep calm” said Rose. She stared at Morgana and she nodded “A few months ago do you remember that I went missing with the knights”.
“Yeah, Agravaine told me about that, I was going to track you, but he told me he’d sort it” said Morgana. Rose nodded nervously as Morgana was connecting the dots.
“The knights were enchanted by a creature called the Lamia” said Rose she then went into the story about what happened with Lamia. Once she was finished the story Morgana looked livid.
“I’ll kill them” said Morgana.
“It’s alright, I survived didn’t I” said Rose.
“No thanks to the knights” said Morgana. Rose laid down and pulling Morgana with her, so they lay side by side with her head on her shoulder and arm around her waist. Morgana was stiff for a few minutes before relaxing wrapping her arm around her shoulders. She started to stroke the back of her hair making Rose sleepy. She fell asleep quickly and smiled contently.

Rose woke up early the next morning to see Morgana was already awake and at the fire. Rose smiled at her and had some breakfast with her and spent the morning with her before saying her goodbyes and left the hovel. It was the afternoon and warm out she gathered some herbs in case she was searched on returning. She got her horse and went back to Camelot. Once she got back to Camelot, she expected it to be busy, but it wasn’t, that’s strange. She went to her chambers and was surprised to see Arthur was sat on her bed, he was upset tears were in his eyes.

Rose ran over and pulled him to her, so his head was in her shoulder. She was surprised however when he completely broke down in her arms hugging her back.
“Shhhh” said Rose gently rubbing his back. She held him for a long time until he eventually calmed himself and sat back but with his arm still wrapped around her “what happened?”.
“I found Gwen’s ring in the woods and I sent Mithian away this morning” said Arthur.
“You did the right thing; you followed your heart” said Rose.
“That’s what Merlin said” said Arthur.
“We grew up in the same village, we are close” said Rose.
“How can I love some who betrays me” said Arthur.
“Because you love her, you have always loved her, I remember when she came out to the courtyard after you defeated Ki.. the dragon she came running out because she had been so worried about you” said Rose.
“She betrayed me; I don’t understand” said Arthur.
“I know but you can forgive her, it shows strength” said Rose.

There was a knock at the door and Merlin entered the room.
“My lord, I knew I would find you here” said Merlin.
“Yeah, I needed to tell Rose I am doomed to be a bachelor” said Arthur dramatically they both chuckled “What's the point of loving someone who cannot be found?”.
“Gwen will be found, and you’ll be together” said Merlin.
“Are you really wise, Merlin, or just a pratting fool? I can no longer tell” said Arthur looking incredulous. Rose smiled, Merlin came forward and knocked over a pot on the floor, Arthur turned to Rose and smiled the first one she had genuinely seen in ages “As if there was ever any doubt”. Rose laughed and nudged Arthur with her shoulder.

The end.

Chapter Text

It was the feast of Beltane and it had been a week or so since Mithian had left. Rose had grown a few inches taller and the stomach had flattened out again which she was glad about. Rose was on the night-time guard with Elyan and Leon in the lower town. She had offered to the guard duty and swapped with Percival rather than go to the feast because she couldn’t be bothered with the feast. She stood between Elyan and Leon on the battlements looking down on the lower town.
“Did you see that” asked Elyan. He pointed into the distance to see a yellow and orange glow waved in the distance. They stared at it a few minutes.
“Maybe someone is signalling to someone in the city,” said Leon. They looked around to the castle but no nothing was there. Rose frowned and turned back to the lower town. Two guards that were at the other end of the lower town were choking and coughing.

Then the lower town completely erupted into fire and smoke. They all ran down there as quick as they could, Leon shouting orders at the guards as they ran along. They got down and immediately it was obvious what caused the fire as the fumes of Alcohol mixed with the smell of smoke.
“Form a line to the well” shouted Elyan. The knights around them started to do as they were told, they started to throw water on the fire, but it wasn’t enough “we need more water, NOW!”. The noise was loud people screaming, crying, the fire raging and the knights shouting orders at each other it was a lot to take in and then a new noise was added the noise of shouting men.

Rose and Leon looked at the same time to see an army of men running towards them carrying torches with them. Rose heart dropped this had to be the Morgana’s work.
“Forget about the water,” said Leon.
“But if we can’t….” said Elyan. Rose nudged him and pointed at the army running towards them he stared at them in horror “How did they breach the gate!”.
“We can’t worry about that now, Quickly, sound the alarm Elyan! Inform the king, Leon with me” said Rose. Elyan ran back to the castle as Leon and Rose got their swords out. They began to fight with the enemy she got herself so she was defending the end of the lower town so that they couldn’t get into the castle.
“Retreat! Lead the people to the woods,” shouted Leon. Rose retreated to the square and carried on fighting the enemy there. The warning bell was ringing and all she could hear was people screaming and yelling.

Suddenly she was grabbed from behind by someone in a red cloak and pulled her around so more of the enemy could see her she struggled against them.
“Tell Morgana to retreat or I will kill Rose” said the voice of a Camelot knight a sword came to her throat, she was relieved when he released her and fell to the floor dead. She turned around and saw it was a dark man who had saved her. He was the enemy. This was Morgana’s doing what reason would he have to save her. She nodded at him in thanks and began to fight a few more of the enemy but really not putting any effort into it because they weren’t putting effort into it. She ran into the castle and began fighting people there. She then dodged as another knight tried to do what the first one did. Now she was really confused. She ducked and dodged as she ran through the corridors trying to get to the hospital ward. Again, she was grabbed from behind.
“Tell Morgana to leave Camelot or I’ll kill her ward” shouted another knight of Camelot.

Rose rolled her eyes as again she felt something come to her throat only this one was a knife and it cut her a bit. She kicked him but he didn’t let go. Again, this knight went limp and fell down with a sword in his back. She turned to see the dark man again she nodded her thanks again. She then ran down the corridor and fought against a few more of the enemy. She got grabbed at a few more times by the Camelot knight but she managed to duck and dive away from them. It was like fighting with both enemy and the Camelot knights. She was being ganged up on and she didn’t like.
“Rose, where are you?” called Morgana’s voice in her head. She ran down the corridor and then down another corridor. She carried on running and fighting as she went along.

Rose joined Percival and Gwaine as they were running and fighting as well, she would cover them, and they would cover her, she looked at them. All three of them ran into the room where the wounded were and locked the door.
“How do we stand?” asked Gaius the room had a few wounded knights in and Merlin and Arthur, he was holding up his chainmail over his ribs. He looked relieved when he saw her. Sir Benning came over to them and stood with them he had a cut on his face.
“The citadel is over run we can’t hold them off much longer,” said Percival.
“How long until they are here” asked Gaius.
“Minutes at best,” said Rose.

 She looked across to her fellow knights to see if they agreed with her, but Benning was glaring at her. He looked very angry with her. Percival looked equally annoyed but at Benning who was still glaring at her like she had done something wrong or she had bought the Southrons in no that was Agravaine.
“They’re coming for Arthur, if they find him, they’ll kill him,” said Merlin.
“We must get him to safety while we still can,” said Percival.
“Arthur would never abandon his people” said Gwaine.
“He’d rather die” added Rose.

This made Benning glare at her more, but she ignored it, she would speak to him later about if she had to but right now the important things were to survive the battle and get Arthur to safety “we must barricade the door, give them as much time as we need”.

Merlin nodded as they started to barricade the door. The looks she was getting from Benning and the other knights in the room she wished she was on the other side of the door. They finished and ran over to Arthur who was dazed and confused.
“We have to go sire” said Merlin.
“Of course,” said Arthur getting up. Rose looked at Merlin and he gave a look. He had used magic to take away Arthur’s will and to make him easier to reason with. He looked really out of it. He stood up and looked at them all.
“Then let’s go,” said Percival.
“We’ll use the postern gate” said Rose going to go with them, she walked with them to the door however Benning grabbed her arm and glared at her pulling her away from that.
“You are going nowhere Rose!” said Benning angrily. He pushed her back into the main part of the room.
“We’ll hold them off as best we can” said Gwaine.

He shook arms with Percival, Rose ran over to Arthur and hugged him quickly before Benning pulled her away from him. She got out of his grip and went back to the middle of the room. Getting ready to say goodbye to Merlin. 
“Gather your things, Gaius” said Merlin looking desperately at Gaius, looking concerned for his guardian.
“You go Merlin, I’ll slow you down,” said Gaius.
“Gaius, no,” said Merlin.
“You must know it’s for the best,” said Gaius. Rose was watching the door waiting for it to open. She could see that Benning was still glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. She was starting to wish she were going with Arthur and Merlin. 
“No if you stay here…,” said Merlin.
“No time to argue, I’m sorry” said Gwaine pushing Merlin towards the other door. Merlin looked defeated as he went after the other men.
“I will keep him safe I give you my word” called Rose after him. 
“Protect our king,” said Gaius.

Merlin left the rest of the knights leaving Gwaine, Benning, Gaius and Rose standing in front of her door, in one swift movement Benning took his sword out of his sword holder and got hold of Rose so his arm was around her shoulders and the sword to her neck.
“Let go of me!” said Rose struggling against him. The struggling made the blade come against her skin and cut it.
“Benning what on earth are you doing!” asked Gaius urgently.
“King Arthur once said that if things looked dire to make it look like Rose was in danger, now she is genuinely in danger because she is the traitor, she should be killed for the traitor she is” said Benning angrily. He bought the sword down but replace the sword with his arm this made her gasp for air.
“I didn’t…. Let me go.... can’t breathe” gasped out Rose. It was harder to breathe the tighter he got as his desperation seemed to get worse.
“Let her go, Benning or so help me I’ll kill you where you stand” shouted Gwaine.

Pointing his sword at him. Rose attempted to struggle but he held tighter. She couldn’t breathe she needed air. The door blew open and Morgana came into the room with her soldiers.
“Let her go” said Morgana.
“Stop this attack and retreat, then she’ll be released” said Benning angrily. How dare he use her as bait, how dare Arthur tell the knights to use her as bait. She was getting weaker as she attempted to gasp for air.
“let her go! She isn’t the traitor” said Gaius.  She stamped on his foot hard which made him loosen his grip as he hopped on the spot, she then moved her head to the side and elbowed him in gut.

He let go and Rose ran forward. She gasped for air and stumbled, sat herself on the table and she took deep breaths.
“Your victory is short lived Morgana.” said Gaius. Morgana glared at them before turning around.
“Prepare the horses we’re going on a hunt,” said Morgana. She then turned around again quickly to face the room “wait” she put her hand out and blasted Benning back with magic then magicked the knife into his body killing him “these two the dungeons” pointing to Gaius and Gwaine “her the throne room, gently she is not under arrest”.

Rose got up and let the dark guy lead her out the room and to the throne room. There were two thrones and Rose took of her cloak and threw it across the room then sat down on one of the thrones and curled herself up on it, she pulled her legs up underneath herself and leant on the back.
“What’s your name?” Asked Rose.
“My name is Helios my lady,” said Helios.
“It’s just Rose, thank you for saving me before,” said Rose.
“You’re welcome now sit up I need to do something about your neck” said Helios he got her discarded cloak and started to tear the material into strips. She sat up and he wrapped the strips around her neck and nodded “are you struggling to breathe or talk”.
“No not really, my throat hurts and I just feel really tired” said Rose honestly. Once he was done, she went back into her past position on the throne and shivered slightly.
“I need some water and a blanket!” ordered Helios to his men. Rose eyes started to droop as the adrenaline she had been feeling ebbed away from her, a man came into the room with goblet of water and a blanket. Helios shook out the blanket and put it over her “sit up and drink this then I’ll leave you alone”. She sat up drank the water and went back to her position. She let herself fall asleep for a bit.

The door opening loudly woke her up sometime later, she sat up and Morgana came in and gave her a sympathetic smile. She came over and sat down on the throne next to her, she took Rose hand and squeezed it. Rose ached around her neck and shoulders, but she felt better than she had done before.
“They got away, are you alright?” asked Morgana.
“I am alright, I think, I ache but I am alright, Helios sorted me out” said Rose.
“Thank you, Helios,” said Morgana looking up to him as he was stood by the throne, he leant on it in a flirty way, she changed her position so her legs was under her as well so she could speak to him.

Rose smiled at her fondly before turning around as the door opened and Agravaine came in. He looked smug and full of himself. 
“All quarters of Camelot are now under our control. Some knights have fled to the woods, but those that did not escape are either in here, in our dungeons or dead” said Agravaine. He was still looking smug with himself; he was looking dreamily at Morgana.
“Very good” said Morgana. She looked up to Helios then looked at Agravaine. Rose sat there and an idea came into her mind. Did Agravaine know about Arthur’s order? He had to because he was his uncle and had been helping Arthur with the army and the knights.
“Have the people welcomed me as their queen” asked Morgana.
“They swear loyalty to no one but Arthur” said Agravaine.
“I thought no less, burn their crops” said Morgana. Rose stared at her in shock she couldn’t mean that at all that was crazy. She shook her head and turned to face Morgana.
“Or maybe it might be an idea to speak to the people and show that you are just as deserving for their respect” said Rose. Morgana stared at her for a minute thinking about it.
“Okay, I’ll go with that idea for now, this place will never accept me without force” said Morgana. Rose felt so bad that Morgana felt that way that the only way she’d get respect would be to burn the farmers crops and starve everyone.

She hoped that Merlin was okay, well from the link that was between them he was alive.
“Agravaine did you know that Arthur had ordered the knights that whenever it looked dire and Morgana was involved to make it look like I was in danger” asked Rose calmly.
“I did know however it was only meant to be pretend, not actual harm” said Agravaine. Rose got up at that and shrugged away the blanket and pulled up the bandages that were around her neck showing him the scars of what happened. She also felt bruised as well so assumed there was a bruise there.

It hurt to think that they thought it was okay to do this and not even speak to her about this. The knights that did this to her was not pretending and they would have killed her if it hadn’t been for Helios.
“This isn’t pretend, non-off the knights that used that tactic last night were pretending, I have a right to know if I am going to be used as bait, I was a knight of Camelot and I was fearing them last night not the people attacking” said Rose angrily.
“What of Arthur” asked Helios. He looked equally as angry as Morgana did, she nodded and Elyan got bought into the room. Rose looked across at him and he gave a look.
“I am going to go write some letters, if that is okay Morgana” said Rose.
“Yeah off you go” said Morgana. Rose left the room quickly not wanting to deal with watching him get tortured she hated it all.

Rose got to her chambers and shut the door. She went across to her table and sat down at the chair. She got the paper and began to write a long letter to Mordred about everything; the battle, Camelot falling, the knights strange new order of using her as bait, her injuries, Morgana’s idea of being queen and everything she was feeling at the moment. It took her a while to write. While she was at the end of her letter, she had just signed it Morgana came into the room looking happy with herself.
“Arthur is headed to Ealdor, so I am sending Agravaine after them” said Morgana.
“He can’t harm the villagers, Arthur and Merlin have no right going there putting Ealdor at risk” said Rose. She went back to her letter adding a PS at the bottom telling him about Arthur and Merlin arriving and the army that was after them. She folded up the letter and magicked the raven to the window and sent the letter to Ealdor.

Morgana sat down at the table and started to look at the papers on the desk. Rose went and sat on the bed putting her legs underneath her again. She picked up a book that was the bed side table and began to read. Agravaine entered the room sometime later and stood at the table in front of Morgana.
“I thought I told you to leave at once” said Morgana.
“My men are ready” said Agravaine.
“Then what are you waiting for” asked Morgana.
“I just wanted to say goodbye” said Agravaine.
“Consider it done” said Morgana scowling at him, he really had it bad. In a sense Morgana used his attraction to her as a weapon to get her to his bidding, whereas she didn’t need to use Rose any of that because she wouldn’t turn her back on Morgana.
“And to ask you to take care” said Agravaine.
“Why? She has nothing to fear” said Rose from her spot on the bed, she didn’t even look up from her book.
“Despite all that has been achieved, you must remain cautious, there is danger at every turn, you can trust no one, not even Helios” said Agravaine.
“She’s got me, she has always had me, and she will always have me, I would never let anything happen to her” said Rose.
“No one but you is that it?” questioned Morgana angrily sitting back and glaring at Agravaine, Rose came over and stood behind Morgana.
“Rose and I are your one true ally, my lady, we are your true friends” said Agravaine.

Rose smirked it was like he was about to break into song, it was sweet but very over the top and very obvious that Agravaine was jealous of Helios “I personally would do anything for you”.
“I appreciate your loyalty Agravaine that is why I have entrusted this mission to you” said Morgana.
“I understand. of course, I do. I only wish it did not take me from your side where I can best protect you” said Agravaine.
“Find Arthur and you need never leave my side again” said Morgana. She smiled as Agravaine bowed and went to leave the room.
“Agravaine, do not harm the villagers, you are there for Arthur not anyone else, that is an order” said Rose.

He nodded and bowed to them both. He left the room, she then looked at Morgana “He has targeted Mordred in the past, I am worried”.
“He dares not do that; I spoke to him about it” said Morgana.
“Yeah but what about Hunnith, Merlin would put his own mother in danger, plus he’s useless at tracking” said Rose. She nearly said our mother, she was so anxious why did Merlin have to go to Ealdor. Could he not head to anywhere where the love of her life, their mother and Kara were? It was a double edged sword it was either stay and wait to find out something had happened to Mordred, Kara and Hunnith and stop Morgana killing everyone in Camelot or going after Agravaine and potential coming back to a Camelot with no fields and no people alive left. The idea came to her and she smiled.
“Try not to worry, that bruise is huge” said Morgana stroking her neck, she went over to the mirror and gasped her neck was a mess. It had a scar and was completely purple.
“Wow, I am going to go get something for it” said Rose, she got up and left the room.

Rose went to the physian’s chambers and got some ointments for the bruises and got herself a bucket of water and took it to her usual spot looking over Camelot. She got the bucket and put it on to the seat next to her.
“wæfemess Mec draca feolagacipe” said Rose her eye glowed gold and she saw her brother in the water he was safe in the woods. He was with a group of people she didn’t recognise she looked further in. Arthur was there he was hugging a tree. Why was he hugging a tree? It made her laugh; she saw Merlin open a box and a very pretty woman point a dagger at him “bearhtm”.
“That’s none of your concern” said the woman. She even sounded pretty.
“I'm sorry. It's just, I recognize that smell. That is frankincense isn't it?” said Merlin. A man came up behind the woman, poor Arthur was still hugging a tree and knocking on it. He looked ridiculous in peasants’ clothes that were too big for him.
“What if it is?” asked the man.
“Must be worth a fortune” said Merlin.
“It must be” said the man. Rose decided at that to call it a day, he was safe and that is that mattered he had ended up in a group of smugglers and poor Arthur was still under a spell. Her eyes flashed to gold and the water went back to normal. She left the bucket there and decided she was going to check on them in the morning.

Now was keeping the people that were there in the kingdom alive. She left the bucket on balcony and walked down the corridor towards the kitchen. She went in and got some bread before heading to the dungeons knowing it probably wasn’t enough, but it was better than nothing, she didn’t want Morgana to starve them. She got the dungeon and saw them all sitting there looking broken and tired.
“Open the door to the cell” said Rose with authority to the guard he just stared at her “I am the queens ward and I demand you open this door unless you want me to go get Morgana herself”. He jumped and quickly he opened the cell. She went in and shut the door behind her she took the bread out her bag. She gave them a piece of bread each.
“You have become my new best friend” said Elyan.
“I know it’s not enough, but I am trying, I won’t let any of you die, I am sorry you’re all in here I am not a traitor if I play the part I can help you” said Rose.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, come here, it’s alright, we understand you’re no traitor, you are the only person I know who would find out her friends were keeping something from her and still apologise” said Gwaine pulling her into a tight hug, she hugged back quickly. She then hugged Gaius and Elyan before leaving the cell. Preparing herself for more of the trials to come being the ward of queen Morgana.

The end

Chapter Text

The next morning Rose went back to her spot over Camelot and did the spell that caused Merlin to appear in the bucket. He was asleep wrapped up in a blanket against a tree he looked undisturbed. Arthur walked across to him and started to kick him; well he was back to normal no more hugging trees for him anymore she finished watching with amusement before going off to find Morgana. That day was a game of stopping Morgana from making stupid decisions like burning crops, starving everyone and setting fire to Gaius chambers. All of which took a lot of persuading and a lot reasoning. Unfortunately. a few of the fields were burnt due to them refusing Morgana but she had managed to do a lot of damage limitation. She was now sat in the throne room with everyone gathered for some reason. She was so nervous about Ealdor, Agravaine was not one to follow orders and she didn’t want to see them get hurt. She wanted to know why she was being used as bait as a bargaining chip with Morgana and no one even told her. Did Merlin know?

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Morgana coming into the room and a few minutes later she was followed by Gwaine being held back by the Southrons he got pushed into the room. The room got a lot louder as everyone started to get excited.
“Behold a knight of Camelot” said Morgana she presented him like he was about to do a show, she lifted her arms in a wave “famed as the greatest knights in five kingdoms” she then grabbed his face Rose wanted to intervene but had completely given up with intervening that day “let’s see if that fame is well deserved” She then moved back and sat down next to Rose on the throne.

The room got even louder as the warriors started to fight. She watched as Gwaine fought and held his own. He disarmed him which made Rose smile briefly to see he was winning.
“Is that all you got; I was promised a proper fight” said Gwaine. The Southron he was fighting against got another weapon out and disarmed Gwaine. Rose shut her eyes and looked away from the fight she could hear Gwaine taunting his opponent. “You're a very angry man, I can see that. Must be hard being so ugly. Children crying, women screaming. Come on”. She heard the fight and then Morgana start to clap slowly. She opened her eyes to see Gwaine was alive she smiled, and he winked at her before glaring at Morgana.
“Congratulations, Sir Knight. And admirable display. You've earned your reward” said Morgana. She waved and a soldier chucked half a loaf of bread at him. He glared even further at her as he picked up the bread and was getting ready for another battle. 
“I’m going to get some fresh air” said Rose she got up and left the room before she could be stopped.

Rose went to her perch over Camelot and sat down heavily today was not a good day. Morgana being queen was a bit like telling a grumpy teenager to go to her room it was so frustrating. She got the bucket that she hid under the bench and put it next to her she turned around. So, she was looking into the bucket of water “wæfemess Mec draca feolagacipe” the water cleared, and she saw that Merlin and Arthur were sat by the fire in a wood.

The pretty couple from before who’s name, she still didn’t know were sleeping against a tree in she smiled but Arthur looked heartbroken.
“You knew, you knew Agravaine’s treachery” said Arthur.
“We assumed; we had our suspicions, but we had no proof” said Merlin.
“We, oh you and Rose maybe they should make her queen, I feel like such a fool. I put such trust in him. All this time I was blind to his treachery as I was to Morgana's” said Arthur Rose felt her heart clench at this. The poor man had not had the best time at all recently and he had a lot to process over the last 10 months.

She was glad they were safe but hated to see Arthur look so defeated even though he was leading Agravaine and the Southrons to Ealdor and he didn’t even realise it.
“You were tricked Arthur it could have happened to anyone, don’t be so hard on yourself” said Merlin.
“Yet it keeps happening to me. I cared about these people. I don't understand. What have I don't wrong? Why do they hate me?” said Arthur sadly.
“They don’t hate you they just want your power and wealth for themselves” said Merlin saying the exact same thing that Rose would have said if she was there. She was going to go with them, but she was stopped and dragged away from the people that would keep her safe.
“Perhaps. Would they still want that power if I was the king my people deserve? Maybe Tristan's right” said Arthur.

Merlin looked across to the couple sleeping against the tree the man must be called Tristan.
“Tristan was angry and afraid; he was looking for someone to blame” said Merlin.
“You seem very sure of yourself” said Arthur.
“All I know is that, for your many faults, you are honest and brave and truehearted, and one day you will be the greatest king this land has ever known” said Merlin.

Rose sniggered did he have music in his head when he said stuff like this he was lucky that Arthur never took these over the top compliments the wrong way and get weirded out however he always took it and he smiled slightly.
“At least I know my servant believes in me” said Arthur.
“I am not alone” said Merlin.
“Rose believes in me to; I know that but why didn’t she come with us; I remember she made it to the room where we were before I passed out” said Arthur.
“Benning dragged her back into the room as we were leaving, I was focused on saving you I had to leave her with Gaius” said Merlin.
“Merlin… Thank you” said Arthur. She put her hand over the bucket and the water went back to clear water. She wiped her eyes and overlooked Camelot. After everything that had happened, he was worried about her and here she was in Camelot following Morgana around acting the part of doting ward. She wanted to join them, but she was dragged back and kept in Camelot to be strangled by a crazed knight. She was so conflicted still but had already made her mind up she was to stay in Camelot and hope for the best. She had promised to keep Gaius safe and she was going to.

The next morning Rose woke up after a broken night of sleep, she checked the window for a raven with Mordred’s letter but had no luck so went over to Morgana who was sat at the table with breakfast for them both. A lot of food was spread across the table.
“Thanks” said Rose. She sat down and started eat she ate her food slowly enjoying the food that had been got for breakfast, once she was finished she felt really guilty the prisoners were living off bread and that’s it and she was sitting around eating like a queen. She looked across to Morgana who was eating with no care in the world “is there any news from Agravaine yet?”. She really needed to know if they were okay.
“Not yet, don’t worry he knows not to hurt the villagers” said Morgana. Rose nodded and pulled a goblet of water to her lips “today I am going get the people to yield to me and accept me as their queen”.

Rose spat her water out without thinking and looked at her in surprise.
“By nicely speaking to them or burning all their crops” asked Rose.
“I will not get their respect without fear, it’s not all about being diplomatic to run a kingdom” said Morgana.
“Yeah but if you kill them all then you won’t have anyone in your kingdom except Southrons” said Rose, she got up and went across to the wardrobe and got changed behind the screen before coming back to stand in front of Morgana “please think it through and don’t act in anger, you are a clever woman and I know you can win these people over without force”. Morgana smiled and looked at Rose like an idea had come into her head.
“I have just had a great idea to win everyone over, I’ll tell you later though once I have done my research” said Morgana. Rose nodded and started to walk towards the door
“I’m going for a walk, I’ll meet you later in the council chambers” said Rose.

Rose then left the room quickly and went for a walk around the castle. The fires from the day before were out, she had managed to give the people with burnt out fields some food to keep them going. She did a lot of physician work bandaging up the villager’s wounds and making sure everyone was okay. Unfortunately, though she hadn’t made it to prisoners. She met Morgana at the council chambers for something to eat and to find out what Morgana’s plan was.
“So, what is this plan of yours to win everyone over” asked Rose.
“I am going to unban magic, it’ll take a while but I am going to do it the proper way so if Arthur took over again he wouldn’t be able to change it” said Morgana.
“I love that plan, we need to show the people that magic can be used for good, I know, use magic to bring the farmers back the crops you burnt yesterday” said Rose.

She was unsure if that would be enough, but it was a start. Morgana nodded and smiled she finished eating and they both got up. Rose and Morgana went to the outlying villages as they arrived in the area people started to run away.
“I have come to fix your fields” said Morgana in her kindest voice she could muster. They still ran away and hid from her. Morgana went over to their hiding spot and knelt so she was at their level “I am not going to harm you, I mean only to help” she then went into the field that was burnt from this village and raised her arms “ābere acumendlícness aldor for gusbar” the field began to become green again and the vegetables returned bigger than ever. The farmer stared at her in horror.

She did it to a few more fields before standing with Rose at the entrance of the villages. The people stared at her and she looked at them back. One of the farmers came forward.
“We are still loyal to no one but King Arthur, you may have bought us back our crops but we should not have a witch as queen, magic is evil” said the farmer. Morgana stepped forward but Rose put her arm out stopping her.

“Allow me Morgana” said Rose she stepped forward and Morgana stepped back “everyone gather around, I need to speak to you all” the people the villages came out of their houses and came to stand in front of her she got her sword out “lets say magic is a sword, a sword can be used by great men who only use it to protect themselves, their families or their kingdom, then you get people that use a sword just because someone bumped into them in the tavern they use it without thinking and kill someone, now lets’ say that owning a sword is now banned if you are seen even looking at a sword you are now tortured for information and executed, then let’s say that a sword isn’t a choice you are born with it and the king the man that is raising you is the reason why other sword users are getting murdered, killed and tortured, would that not drive you insane, would that not make you question your whole existence, now tell me that magic is evil”. She then stepped back and walked away bringing Morgana with her. They got back to the castle and into the council chambers and Morgana started to cry. Rose came from behind and hugged her.
“Thank you” said Morgana. They hugged for a while before Rose pulled away.
“I am going for another walk” said Rose before leaving the room.

Rose walked to her perch overlooking the city and, in the distance, she could see the farmers at work sorting out their field. She had just defended magic; she couldn’t believe she had just done that. She was so ready to just be executed when Arthur eventually returned. She picked up the bucket and did the same spell she had done before the image came into the bucket.

Merlin was in Ealdor he was with their mother.
“It’s good to have you home Merlin, I wish Rose had been able to make it with you” said Hunnith.
“I’m so sorry it’s been so long, and I am also sorry I didn’t bring her home with me” said Merlin.
“I understand how it is both your lives in Camelot, I worry about you both sometimes, the dangers that you both face, the danger she is now” said Hunnith. Rose felt her heart sink she didn’t want her mother to worry. She was okay except a sore neck and shoulders; it was strange she had been using a bruising paste and yet the bruise was still there and nasty and hurt a ton at times.
“Mother we don’t want you worrying about us” said Merlin.
“I can’t help it, it’s what mothers do” said Hunnith.
“Well we are mostly here, safe and sound, well less so if Mordred and Kara punch Arthur in the face again” said Merlin.

Rose’s jaw drop, and she giggled at that, Mordred and Kara had punched Arthur in the face she was gutted she missed that.
“They were angry they both care about Rose and to find out she was being used a bait to get Morgana’s army to stop and the fact nobody told her about it so she got hurt and is still in danger of getting hurt” said Hunnith. They got distracted when they saw Gwen’s silhouette in Arthur’s hut.
“How is she doing,” said Merlin.
“She is doing as well to be expected however it takes a lot to mend a broken heart” said Hunnith she smiled and touched Merlin’s arm “she also has a lot to say to Arthur about the Rose situation”.

Merlin sighed and carried on walking with Hunnith.
“I didn’t know about that order...” said Merlin but before he could continue their screams from everywhere. An army was surrounding Ealdor making Rose gasp she watched as Agravaine came into the village and pushed a few villagers over he wasn’t following orders.
“Everyone stay calm and go to your houses, they have been ordered not harm you” called Mordred who was by his house. Everyone ran into their houses Mordred looked around and ran over to a little figure not that far away from the Agravaine.
“Kara!” said Rose. She held her breath as Mordred got to her but before they could move a wagon suddenly set on fire and started to move making Mordred, Kara and Agravaine jump out of the way. She watched as Mordred was knocked out with this movement. She watched as they all ran through the woods away from the army.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose watched in the bucket as Merlin sent the others ahead and called for the dragon. All this happening too fast she wanted to join them. Merlin ran into the cave and soon caught up with Arthur and the others. Rose was watching this with pure horror what if they got hurt what if Mordred was hurt now.
“Have we lost them?” asked Arthur.
“We ae safe,” said Merlin.
“Are you sure,” said Arthur.
“Do I look like an idiot,” said Merlin.
“Yes” said Arthur. Rose sniggered at that one because Merlin walked straight into it.
“You never change do you” said Merlin walking ahead they got to a fork in the tunnel with four different paths. It’s was left to get out the other side.
“Left” said Rose in her head. Merlin looked around the tunnel confused.
“Rose, where are you?” thought Merlin.
“I am in Camelot; I am linked with the water” thought Rose.
“Which way now” said Arthur. Merlin stayed silent thinking which made Arthur even more impatient he tutted “I wish Rose was here, she’d probably know”.

Merlin started to walk off looking annoyed with Arthur they carried on walking through the tunnels.
“So, you know Arthur” said Tristan to Gwen. Rose smiled when she saw her. She had missed her so much; she was coming home. 
“I was a servant in Camelot” said Gwen.
“To Arthur” asked Tristian.
“No, to his ward,” said Gwen.
“So why are you here” asked Tristian.
“He’s my king and our ward needs my help,” said Gwen. Rose decided to stop for the night and check the bucket in the morning. She stopped the vision and put the bucket down she sighed they were safe and, on their way, back to Camelot. Mordred was unconscious but he’ll be fine. She watched the sunrise over the horizon she had been watching the bucket all night. but she didn’t need to sleep. She could sleep when she’s dead. She had few things she needed to do after watching the sunrise Rose wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and left the castle.

She went far out of Camelot and got to a field near the woods. She took a deep breath and called Kilghara to earth. She only had to wait a few minutes before he landed, he looked at her with an interested look.
“Kilghara you would not believe the week I have been having” said Rose.
“You are looking very in the wars, tell me all about it” said Kilghara. She smiled at him as she told him everything that had been happening over the last week it was hard to talk about the battle and it was even hard talking about how she felt, she told him everything and her story was long.

Kilghara was patient as ever he had always been too kind to her even when she felt like she didn’t deserve it.
“What do I do? Tell me what to do and I’ll do it” said Rose finally she had a tear go down her face and he breathed smoky air into her face which made her feel calmer. She breathed in the smoky smell let it calm her.
“Times like this I am reminded that even with the huge destiny on your shoulders you are still a child, you will work something out” said Kilghara. She smiled at him and nodded.
“I just want to help everyone, it’s like a game of tug of war, no Morgana don’t set fire to the crops or starve everyone” said Rose desperately.
“When the path seems rough ahead the best thing to do is to take it slow, I wish I can be more help” said Kilghara.
“You are a massive help; can you watch out for Merlin for me” said Rose. Kilghara nodded and went into the sky. Rose got a piece of scrap paper out her bag and a looked at the note. Her eyes flashed gold and writing materialized on to the piece of paper “don’t give up hope Arthur is on his way”.

Rose went back to the castle and heard clanging coming from the council chamber she looked in to see Gwaine was fighting again but he looked weaker than before, she came into the room and stared at Gwaine with her sad eyes. He won the battle and looked like he was about to fall over. Rose went over to him with another guard they both got either side of him and took him from the room Morgana following behind them.

They got to the dungeon and Rose slipped the note into hand before the guard pushed him to the ground.
“Oi, be gentle with him, he can’t fight if he’s weak” said Rose. Morgana looked at her with a strange look and before chucking some bread into the cell.
“Enjoy your supper as it’ll be your last” said Morgana before walking away. She turned around and looked at Rose, but she was too busy staring at Gaius looking ill and unwell on the bed. Morgana came over and wrapped her arm around her and walked her away from the dungeons she looked behind her, but Morgana moved her slightly, so she was facing forward.

She was walked back to their chambers. She took herself out of Morgana’s grip and turned to face her.
“We need to help Gaius; he is dying down there,” said Rose.
“It isn’t anything he doesn’t deserve he turned his back on his own kind,” said Morgana.
“Yes, because your nutter of a father was rounding up everyone he cared about and torturing them and murdering them, he needs our help” said Rose desperately.
“It’s okay Rose, it’s going to be okay” said Morgana trying to sooth her and calm her down, she stepped forward towards Rose.
“It’s not okay Morgana, Gaius is going to die if we don’t help him,” said Rose. Morgana came closer and wrapped her arms around her. Rose felt herself calm down in spite of herself she didn’t want to calm down she wanted to fight but she stopped herself “sorry about that sometimes my emotions get the better of me”. Morgana stepped back but still holding her arms.
“I understand,” said Morgana. They sat around for a while Rose sat on at the table reading through some order forms while Morgana was sat on her bed.

She got up when she heard the raven’s beak hit the window. She ran over and got a letter from Mordred she opened it quickly and started to read. Morgana came over and read over her shoulder. She could hear Mordred’s voice in her head as she read the letter.

Dear Rose

Arthur and his party arrived yesterday evening, Kara and I may have welcomed him with a punch to the face well he deserved making you bait for Morgana and then not telling you it was unforgiveable. They were followed by an army at night, they managed to escape because Emerys called the great dragon Kilghara and he killed everyone in the army including Agravaine. I hope that you are safe and well. Love you always and a day.

Love Mordred.

She smiled at the letter before turning to Morgana who was pale and upset. Rose wrapped her arms around her and hugged tightly. She then walked them over to Morgana’s bed and laid them both down. Morgana laid next to her head on Rose’s shoulder she stroked her hair calmly.
“Dell Awefecung” said Rose her eyes flashed gold and Morgana fell asleep.

Rose got up and left the chambers she went back to the perch over Camelot. She could see the woods had activity in them. She sat and got the bucket she did the spell and Merlin came into the once clear bucket.
“Merlin” thought Rose into the bucket.
“Rose” said Merlin voice into her head.
“Where are you?” asked Rose into the bucket with her mind.
“I am in the forest of Ascetir with Arthur, are you okay” asked Merlin.
“My neck is one big bruise and I have a scar, other than that fine and dandy, how about you guys are you okay” said Rose.
“Yes, we are fine, I didn’t know about that order I swear, Arthur feels really guilty, he doesn’t think he should be king anymore, he wants to make you queen” said Merlin.
“Do you have a plan to restore his self-esteem?” asked Rose.
“Yes, I have a plan” said Merlin.
“Good, work it out, I have to work out some stuff here, how much medical supplies do you have?” asked Rose calmly.
“Enough, why?” asked Merlin.

Rose couldn’t bring herself to tell him that Gaius was really ill. She was going to help him.
“I am just making sure you are prepared, stay safe love you brother” said Rose honestly.
“Love you to sister” said Merlin. She put her hand over the bucket, and it disappeared. She got up making her decision now. She got up and walked quickly to the dungeons. Gwaine was asleep and Elyan was sat bolt upright afraid of anything that was coming for him. Rose grabbed a jug of water and few goblets from the side and slipped it into the cell quietly. Elyan was about to speak but she put her fingers to her lips. She then took a key to the cell before walking back to her chambers and got back into bed putting Morgana’s head back onto her shoulder and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She kissed the top of her head.

She stayed awake for the rest of the night and watched her sleep her head was too distracted to sleep. She watched Morgana sleep and sighed. For a woman who acted like nothing bothered her she could see the tension on her woman even in sleep. She was the result of Uther’s magic hating mania and a lot manipulation. When the sun came up Rose got up and went across to the table to do some writing. She wrote a long letter to Mordred and sent it off.

Rose came back into the main bit of the chambers as Morgana woke up. Before Rose could say anything there was a knock at the door.
“Enter” said Morgana. Helios came inside looking grim.
“I need to speak with you” said Helios. Morgana got up and Rose went over to him all three of them left the chamber and all three walked down the corridor. “When the men got to Ealdor the ground was on fire, they’d all been slaughtered”.
“I know, Rose’s lover who lives in Ealdor wrote her a letter” said Morgana.
“Is it true about Agravaine?” asked Rose.
“Yes, unfortunately he was found dead” said Helios.
“This is the work of Emerys, he knows everything, all our plans” said Morgana she took Rose’s hand and held it tightly “Rose stay near me”. Rose nodded and they walked away from Helios.

They went to the library and started to read. Her eyes were itching from tiredness, but she couldn’t fall asleep even if she tried, she was very highly strung and just really anxious about the things going on around her, but she continued to read. The rest of the day she was at Morgana’s side walking alongside her stopping her from overtly harming people and yet again she had to stop her from setting fire to some poor farmers crops. Morgana hadn’t been to the dungeon since telling them that their last piece of bread was their last meal. Rose wondered if she was leaving them to starve to death. Helios joined them as they walked down the corridor later on that day the sun had set.
“What do you suggest we do about Arthur” said Helios.
“We must send emissaries to Lot’s kingdom; we must offer a reward for Arthur’s return” said Morgana. They turned the corner and Merlin under an aging spell appeared at the end of the corridor she gasped and looked at him in alarm “it’s him, it’s Emerys, he’s here”.

Rose ran after him and went in a shortcut she knew in the alcoves. Merlin ran past her she got the back his robes and pulled him into the alcove. Helios and the guards ran past their hiding spot.
“What do you need me to do?” whispered Rose.
“You to distract Morgana and don’t sleep in her bed tonight” whispered Merlin. She nodded and hugged him before going back to a very shaken Morgana.

Morgana hugged her and she hugged back comforting her. She could feel Morgana’s heart was beating really fast in her chest she was more than worried; she was positively terrified. Rose rubbed her back soothing. A soldier walked past them quickly he looked at her and saw it was Merlin. She hugged Morgana tighter putting her hand on Morgana’s head and pushed her head into her shoulder. Merlin nodded at her and winked.
“It’s alright” said Rose.

 Helios joined them not long after and they started to walk towards their chambers.
“He is nowhere to be seen; he is no longer in the palace,” said Helios.
“He fled at the sight of you Morgana, you don’t have to worry I’ll keep you safe” said Rose calmly.
“Then why was he here? Why does he choose to taunt me like this?!” said Morgana in a really panicked voice. Helios put his hand on her shoulder.
“We must keep our nerve, maybe you should get some sleep” said Helios. Morgana nodded slowly; Helios made to leave the room.
“Make sure there are guards on the door” said Morgana in a small voice. Rose felt her heart break for Morgana, Helios nodded and left the room. Morgana went across to her bed and Rose went across to her bed. The older woman fell asleep quickly while Rose laid in bed, but no sleep came. She felt a powerful magic in the room. She wondered what Merlin had done.

Rose tried to fall asleep but couldn’t. She gave up and went across to the window and watched the guards in the courtyard. She wished there were more she could do to help everyone. She went across to her table and wrote a note for Merlin “Please tell Arthur to show Morgana some kindness and not to try to kill her on sight, your sister, Rose”. He then sent the note on a raven. Rose then changed her clothes and put on her druid cloak and went up to her ledge over Camelot. She watched everyone in the lower town and the castle she watched the sun come up slowly in the distance. She had spent the last few days watching the sun rise. She was starting to feel it, but she was ignoring it. The poor people in the dungeons were starving and ill. She can deal with slight tiredness. She heard some grunts from the distance, she stared out over to where she heard it. She smiled when she saw Percival knock out about guards at once. He was impressive.

Wait did that mean that they were coming to Camelot’s rescue finally. Men in red cloaks came running towards the castle, their cloaks were lying behind them. The warning bell sounded a few minutes later as she watched the Camelot knights run through the courtyard. She got up and left the balcony area. She ran down the corridor carefully.
“Rose, come to the throne room” said Morgana in her head.
“On my way, I might be a while, I have to dodge around the Camelot knights” said Rose in her head. She ran down the corridor quickly and heard noise from the other end of the corridor. She looked around and the Southrons were at the other end. She was grabbed from behind which made her jump and made her want to hit out. She looked at the man who had her and smiled when she saw it was Percival and he looked at her and let go. She hugged him.
“Are you alright?” asked Rose.
“Never better,” said Percival.
“You need to go to dungeons and sort out the prisoners,” said Rose.

She then clapped his arm and gave him the key to the dungeon before running down the other corridor avoiding a couple of knights that were trying to grab her. She turned the corner and the rest of her journey without much interruption. She got to the throne room and used the servants passage to get in, so she came in behind Morgana and Helios. Morgana was standing in front of Arthur.
“Neither are you,” said Arthur. Rose came forward slightly and luckily no one had noticed her yet.

Morgana stepped back and she was angry. It was very clear that Arthur had said the wrong thing.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you, Arthur Pendragon. Not even Emrys can save you now” said Morgana.                                            “Morgana! No, you don’t have to do this” said Rose stepping forward walking towards her.
“I do don’t you understand, he’ll never accept magic, he’ll never accept me” said Morgana.
“He changed the law on druids, surely that means something, Uther would have just carried on hunting them, Arthur has stopped that, you grew up like brother and sister and if you kill him you will regret it maybe not right now but later on” said Rose.
“Druid law isn’t the same as the magic law,” said Morgana.
“Well, if people keep attacking him with magic, he isn’t going to give it a chance however you can do good with it” said Rose.
“I haven't given it much thought” said Arthur.

Rose stepped back slightly as Morgana’s magic strengthened. She wanted to slap Arthur, she nearly had Morgana talked down. Why was she trying to put out everyone’s fires it was their own mess?
“Hleap on bæc!” said Morgana nothing happened she looked to Rose frowning, she shrugged, and Morgana turned back to Arthur this time putting her hand out “Hleap on bæc!”. Still nothing Rose looked across to Merlin to see he was twitching slightly. Arthur and Morgana seemed to come to the same realisation at the same time.
“Not so powerful now my lady” said Arthur.

Helios stepped forward and pushed her behind him and raised his sword. Morgana stood for a moment before grabbing Rose and dragging her bodily from the room “After her! Don’t let her get away with Rose”.
“Morgana, it’s alright I can walk myself” whispered Rose. Morgana kept Rose to her side as she ran down the corridor fighting. Morgana let her go as she was sliced in the side. Morgana blasted him back with magic before gasping in pain.
“Did he get you” asked Morgana.
“No, I’m okay,” said Rose.

Morgana got hold of her again and ran with her. Gwen came around the other corridor and raised her sword. Morgana pushed Rose to the side and then continued around the corner to meet Gwen. They started to sword fight.
“What did I do to make you hate me so much” said Gwen
“It’s not what you did, it’s what your destined to do” said Morgana, Rose could hear in her voice regret as she said the next bit “and sorry Gwen, I can’t let that happen”. She disarmed Gwen and went for the kill but was then blasted back with magic. The dust and everything came in an instant. Rose ran forward and ran into the dust. She quickly healed her from the wound, but she stayed unconscious. She woke her up with a silent spell, Morgana looked at her confused and She disappeared in a flash of smoke, and Rose got up and stared at where Morgana had just been. 
“What happened” asked Gwen.
“I don’t know” said Merlin.
“She’s gone, she vanished, oh wow, its over” said Rose in awe, she jumped when a hand came on her shoulder.

She then relaxed when it was Merlin, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, she turned around and hugged him tightly. She then pulled away and hugged Gwen “I’ve missed you”. They then walked back to the throne room; they saw Tristian sat on the ground with Isolde in his arms.
“Our dreams” said Isolde.
“Isolde don’t” said Tristian. Rose looked across to Arthur and went around the pillar to his side of the dying woman. He didn’t notice her until she put her arms out unsure of whether or not she was going to get a good reception. He pulled her to him and hugged her, so she was facing away from the heart-breaking scene.
“I wish,” said Isolde.
“I wish too,” said Tristian.

The emotion in the room was making her tear up and she had a feeling she was wetting Arthur’s chain mail and shoulder. He held tighter to her and started to rub her back.
“Hold me” said Isolde. Then there was silence as Isolde died. Rose couldn’t stand to be in this room anymore. She pulled away from Arthur and started to walk away.
“Where are you going?” asked Gwen coming over to her.
“I need to check on the wounded, see if I can help get rid of Southrons or help in some way” said Rose her voice sounded strange like it wasn’t her own.
“No, you don’t have to do any off that,” said Gwen.
“I do because this is my fault, I thought I could get through to Morgana but I couldn’t and now thanks to that people have died and people are hurt and I want to help fix that” said Rose.

Rose made it to the door and left the room. She walked down the corridor and heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see it was Gwen following her. Gwen got hold of hands and held her in place.
“Listen to me, listen to me, look at me” said Gwen, she cupped Rose’s face and forced her to look at her stroking her cheek “Non off this is your fault”. Rose had a few stray tears go down her face which Gwen wiped away for her.
“I, I, I” said Rose before losing all composure and slumping into Gwen in a hug. Gwen wrapped her up in a hug and guided her to her bedroom. She was laid down on the bed and Rose let this happen feeling so sad, so guilty, so emotional after everything that had happened. She fell asleep quickly feeling extremely exhausted.

Rose woke up later feeling a lot better than she had done in days she could hear talking in the room, so she sat up slowly and smiled when she saw it was Arthur and Gwen talking.
“Will you marry me” said Arthur.
“Yes, with all my heart” said Gwen. Rose breathed a sigh of relief and looked across at them as they kissed. Rose felt so much better she just wanted to keep them together forever. Rose got up then and went across to them. They broke apart from the kiss and they both hugged her, so they were in a group hug. After this it was a lot of tidying up after Morgana and making sure everyone was up for the wedding. They had a small ceremony for the wedding however the next morning the ceremony of her becoming queen was a large event.

The throne room was full of people in rows there was music playing. Arthur stood at the front of the room wearing the kings crown and his knights wear with the red cloak, Rose was on his left hand side looking a bit older wearing a red dress with the knight’s cloak and a crown on her head it looked like the crown that Arthur used to wear when he was made crowned prince. Gwen entered the room from the back in a purple dress people bowed as she walked past them all. Once Gwen got to the front of the room she knelt on to the floor in front of Arthur. He put his hand out for a crown as she looked at him with love and happiness. He picked up the crown from the pillow and put it, so it was over Gwen’s head.
“By the sacred laws vested in me, I pronounce you Guinevere, queen of Camelot” said Arthur. He placed the crown on her head and then he helped her up and they kissed before they sat down on the throne holding Arthur holding both their hands.
“Long live the queen” shouted Arthur and the room erupted with call of long life the queen. Rose smiled as she stood with Arthur and Gwen.

Later on, that day Rose was summoned to Arthur’s chambers. She wondered what he wanted assumed he’d be too busy with Gwen to be wanting to see her. She walked into royal chamber and saw Arthur was sat at his table.
“You wanted to see me” said Rose.
“I do, the farmers in the outlying villages give their thanks for convincing Morgana to give their crop back and commend you on your convincing speech about magic to not arouse suspicion, however I do need to ask was their truth in your speech” asked Arthur.
“Well I believe that magic is like a sword, you get good people that use magic like Will, he used magic and he saved everyone and you have people that get corrupted by it like Morgana, however I was being more heartfelt to the farmers because Morgana was watching my every move” said Rose.
“We can have a look at our laws in due time, however I want you to go to Ealdor and retrieve Mordred” said Arthur.
“For him to stay here or for you to execute him for punching you” asked Rose.
“For him to stay off course, however he does have a good punch on him” said Arthur. Rose laughed and nodded.
“I will make haste then, I will go alone as I believe Gwaine isn’t up for the journey” said Rose. Arthur nodded and got up. She ran over to him and hugged him before going to get herself packed and ready for the journey. Once she was packed and ready to go, she said her goodbyes to everyone before setting off on her journey.  Close to the border of Lot’s kingdom she was taking a break and watering her horses when she got knocked out from behind and everything turned black.

The end. 

Chapter Text

2 years, it had been 2 years since Rose had escaped by the Sarrum, it was horrible she spent 1 year in his dungeon with Morgana and Aithusa the little white dragon who was unrecognizable now. She had been knocked out on her way to get Mordred to go to Camelot, but she never made it there. She had come around in Sarrum’s dungeon her hands chained above her, Morgana next to her. It was a blur, they’d get fed, then they’d sit around all day. Sometimes they would speak to each other a lot to pass the time and it was horrible. It was horrible and dark; it was like a living grave. Morgana had tried to get the Sarrum to let Rose and Aithusa go and keep her, but he was using her a bargaining chip. If Morgana misbehaved, then Rose would get punished.

The worst thing about it too was Aithusa was growing and would become deformed and would bleed a lot and his bones would break. Rose did her best to ease the dragon’s suffering, but it was no good. Day went into weeks and weeks went into months and months went into a year but sometimes it would feel like they were in days. It was such a weird feeling. Rose had a few full memories from that time due to how much she had blocked out the memories. She believed something happened to her one of the days because she has no memory of it whatsoever, but she felt empty for the rest of the time so something traumatic had happened. Morgana wouldn’t tell her but would comfort her a lot more and her dress had been changed at some point, but she couldn’t remember it happening. When she had returned Camelot, she was covered in wounds and scars from her time in the living grave. It took her a year to get back to some kind of normal. She couldn’t speak about it much, so Arthur and the rest of them except Merlin and Gaius only knew that she was taken by someone using her as bait for Morgana but not about Aithusa neither did he know it was the Sarrum but there had been rumours.

Rose was walking along side Gwen down the corridor and her maid was walking behind them, they had gone for walk to get some fresh air. When she returned to Camelot, she had been put on bed rest for a few months so as soon as she had been able to get out of bed she would go for walks with Gwen and it had become a routine.  She loved spending time with Gwen and would spend a lot of time with her at times.
“We are late for the round table meeting” said Rose.
“Don’t worry about it, Arthur won’t care” said Gwen. They got to the stairs which lead to the round table room everyone was gathered at the bottom waiting around for them.
“Are you capable of anything” asked Arthur speaking to Merlin.
“Putting up with you” said Merlin. Rose sniggered at that comment and Gwen cleared her throat and everyone looked around at her.
“Sorry we’re late” said Gwen.
“Late, not at all” said Arthur looking at them both. They walked down the stairs and met Arthur at the bottom. Rose changed her position, so she was on Arthur’s other side. She walked in alongside them and sat down the other side of Gaius. She knew what the meeting was about it was to do with the missing knights. Arthur stood up and started to address the table.
“Noble Knights of Camelot, countrymen, friends. I welcome you to this meeting of the Round Table. For three long years, we have been blessed with peace and prosperity. But now, it seems a shadow has been cast across our lands” said Arthur he took breath and continued “Sir Gwaine set off for Ismere some six weeks ago. With him went three score of our finest men. There has been no word from them since, at my request, Sir Elyan and the lady Rose led a search party to the wastelands of the north. They found no trace of Gwaine or his men. It is as if they have vanished from the face of the Earth”. 

The meeting carried on and they arranged the search party to start the next day at dawn. Everyone was dismissed and, a small group went to Arthur’s room to talk about the journey. This meeting had Gwen, Arthur, Elyan, Merlin, Rose and Gaius present at it, a map was spread against the table. 
“We know Gwaine and his men crossed the pass, here, at Isulfor. But beyond that, there was no trace. The trail went cold” said Elyan.
“Literally, it was freezing there, very snowy” said Rose. She got a few smiles and a few laughs for her jokes.
“What of this story that the fortress of Ismere has been occupied once more? Is it true?” said Arthur. Elyan and Rose looked at each nervously, everyone they asked had told them it was Morgana; however, she didn’t know what Morgana was up to because she was in the mood of telling her she was better off without her.
“There were many rumours, sire” said Elyan.
“One name keeps getting mentioned, Morgana” said Rose. Everyone looked nervous at the thought of Morgana which was to be honest was very justified after everything that happened with the whole taking over Camelot and getting stronger every day.

Morgana had sent Rose back Camelot and told her they couldn’t communicate because she was better off without her which broke her heart, it wasn’t Morgana’s fault it was the Sarrum’s fault.
“Then we have no time to lose” said Arthur. He turned to face Rose and looked at her “have you heard from her lately?”.
“No, however I can get into her mindset and if we go ahead with this we could be walking into a trap” said Rose.
“Rose is right sire, you could be walking into a trap” said Gaius seriously.
“The Knights of Camelot do not abandon their own” said Arthur. Rose nodded at that and smiled at him.
“Morgana knows that, she’ll be waiting for you” said Gaius.
“We have to save them, they’d do the same for us” said Rose it was true both Percival and Gwaine were so selfless they’d lay down their lives in a heartbeat and didn’t deserve whatever Morgana was doing because she was livid and angry from everything that had happened.
“Rose is right, these men bleed for me” said Arthur.
“May I make a suggestion, you approach Ismere from a different route, go from the west” said Gwen. “Through Annis’s lands” asked Arthur.
“It would certainly take Morgana by surprise” said Gaius.
“Would Annis’s grant us a safe passage with so many armed knights” asked Arthur.
“I believe she would sire” said Leon. Rose smiled and nodded before remembering something about Morgana that needed to be noted.
“But we do need to keep in mind she is a seer, so if this future is too strong then she will know about it” said Rose.
We will keep that in mind, dispatch a rider immediately, we’ll follow at dawn” said Arthur. Rose smiled and nodded “remember if we are to succeed, this has to be a secret”. Everyone agreed with this and nodded. Merlin seemed anxious and walked out the room with a crash, Rose ran over to see what happened. Sefa the maid and Merlin were cleaning up apples. She smirked before walking down the corridor.

She went to her chambers to get ready for the mission. She packed her weapons, her shield and her potions that she had to take, Gaius would batch make them for her so when she went on knight patrol’s she could take them with her, she packed enough to last 6 days because that was how long it was probably going to take. She went across to window to see if she had any letters, but she never did these days, the odd one from Kara every so often but nothing else. Rose had not seen, heard or spoken to Mordred in 3 years. After she had escaped the dungeon with Morgana, she had been bed bound to start of with and because of this it had been even longer until she could tell Mordred what had happened. She had attempted to write but heard nothing back. So, she had journeyed to Ealdor with Gwaine to see if he was there, but he had gone. Hunnith had told her he gone to find her, and Kara had gone to druid camp not that far away from Ealdor. Mordred could be dead for all she knew.  That broke her heart the fact he could be dead, and he must have thought the worst to begin with because it wasn’t for months until they all realised, she was missing. Rose finished off her packing and walked across to the window and watched the people in the square before walking across to her bed and going to sleep forgetting to take her sleeping draft.  She began to dream and flashback to her returning to Camelot.

Rose, Morgana and Aithusa were sat in the dungeon, everything hurt and she didn’t know how long it had been yet as every day felt weird at times it felt like years had passed but sometimes it felt like days. Aithusa’s head was on Rose’s lap and she would stroke her head as she cried and shrieked in pain as he grew. Morgana was sat next to her asleep.
“Morgana, so I know that my dress was changed, and I have an empty feeling that I don’t understand, what can’t I remember” asked Rose desperately at this point though she had asked the question a few times.
“You have blanks in your memory because you have been through some traumatic stuff, I can’t tell you what happened” said Morgana. The window was opened, and the light was dazzling causing her to frown, the dragon let out a horrible cry. Bread was chucked down to them and they shut the hatch.

Rose looked up and noticed the light coming through a crack, they hadn’t shut it properly. She looked across to Morgana. Morgana snapped their chains with magic. She then stood up for the first time in ages and immediately fell down again feeling hot pain in her legs, Morgana caught her.
“Aithusa fly up and meet us at the top” said Rose in the dragon tongue. The poor little thing stretched his wings as best he could., and he flew up knocking the gate with him. Rose got hold of Morgana and readied her magic.
“Aswindan ae outside” said Rose. She shut her eyes and the flying sensation happened and they landed in the fresh air of outside the dungeon. They looked around and saw that they were outside a massive castle structure. Rose landed on her feet and so did Morgana. She ignored the flaring hot pain she felt in her legs and they ran.

The three of them ran blasting anyone that bothered them. They got to the woods.  They ran until they got to a clearing.
“Where even were we?” asked Morgana.
“Wherever the Sarrum is king for, to be honest I could go back and kill him, what are we going to do now” said Rose.
“You are going back to Camelot, you are better off without me, all of this was my fault” said Morgana. Rose shook her head but stopped as it caused her pain.
“No, it was the Sarrum’s he had us locked up, I will go back to Camelot, but I am not losing you, look after Aithusa for me” said Rose.
“You are better off without me” said Morgana, she got a grip on Aithusa and disappeared in front of her eyes. Rose stared at where she had just been and felt her legs give way.
“O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!” said Rose into the sky. Kilghara came flying down to where she was and stared at her in horror with his golden eyes.
“Young one what has happened to you” said Kilghara.
“A nasty king took me prisoner used me as bait and punishment for Morgana and I just escaped; I need your help” said Rose.
“I can see that, come here, I cannot heal you because they need to see what this king has done” said Kilghara. She got up slowly and with his help, she climbed on Kilghara. She held on tight as he flew through the air. She smiled when she saw Camelot in the distance. Tears pricked her eyes and Kilghara landed in the field near Camelot. She gently slid down and hugged his leg.
“Thank you” said Rose.
“I am glad that you are safe, I have spent the last year looking for you, if I had known you where you were I would have done something” said Kilghara the sorrow in his face was there and she stayed stood up.
“I hold you no ill will” said Rose. Kilghara nodded before flying up into the sky. Rose walked towards Camelot. Her legs hurt, her back was stinging, and everything just felt wrong. She felt weird being back in the normal world and in the open.

Rose carried on walking and eventually she heard horses come on the path behind her.
“Are you in need of assistance” asked Gwaine’s voice from behind her. She nearly cried at the familiarity of the voice. She turned around and looked at her fellow knights, the knights she didn’t think she was going to see again. Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and a few other young knights looked back at her.
“Rose!” exclaimed Percival he jumped of his horse and went over to her. She collapsed into him and he caught her. He then scooped her up which caused her to hiss in pain. Elyan came over and examined her quickly as Percival walked her to the horse.
“We need to get her to Gaius” said Elyan. The journey back to Camelot was a blur of red and blue, it was so good to be back with people that were safe. They got to the square and she was taken from the horse and was being held in Gwaine’s arms.
“Tell the king that the lady Rose has returned and is in Gaius’s chambers” said Gwaine to some guards he then ran her through the corridors and ran her up to the physian’s chambers.

Rose awoke with a start and looked at the window to see that it was nearly dawn. So, she got up and got into her knight’s uniform. She stared at herself in the mirror as she got changed into her knight’s uniform. The reason her legs had been hurting on her escape was because both her ankles had been broken, her back had been stinging because she had whip marks on her back, she still had the scars. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to Percival and Gwaine. They were her friends, and she didn’t want anything to happen to them.

She took her potions, one was for pain, one was for anti-sickness, and one was for when she had finished eating, she also took a sleeping draft at night to stop the nightmares. She got her bag and put it over her shoulder and left the room. After that she got her horse ready and went to join everyone in the courtyard.
“Are you ready?” asked Arthur.
“Yeah, lets go get our wayward knights back” said Rose. Gwen came down the steps and approached Rose and Arthur.
“Be careful both off you” said Gwen.
“We will be okay” said Rose.
“I hope so, I’ll miss you both” said Gwen.

She pulled them both into a hug before stepping back and standing on the steps into the palace. They all then set off out of Camelot. They travelled through the woods, which is when Merlin started talking.
“Do you really think they could be alive” asked Merlin.
“I have to find out. They're Knights of the Round Table. It's a bond we share” said Arthur.
“Gwaine and Percival would never give up on us so we shouldn’t give up on then” said Rose.
“I understand” said Merlin.
“If this was you Merlin, I wouldn’t bother” said Arthur. Rose laughed that wasn’t true, he’d probably send the whole army out if Merlin went missing.  They travelled for a while longer all talking amongst themselves for a while.
“Well Merlin if you went missing, I would be bringing the army to find you” said Rose.
“I can see you doing that as well, how are you feeling today” asked Merlin.
“I am good actually, I am having a good day for pain, nothing is stopping me finding Gwaine and Percival” said Rose.

They arrived at the border between Camelot and Annis’s lands which was lined by a gorge. It was getting colder the more they went up north like it had done when she had come out with Elyan to look for the knights however they went a different direction.
“The gorge marks the start of Annis’s lands” said Arthur he looked around to the others.
“Its prime ambush territory” said Elyan. Arthur nodded at him and looked back at the gorge before turning back to Elyan and Rose.
“Take some knights and follow the ridge” said Arthur. Rose and Elyan rounded up some men and they went around the ridge carefully. They were on the lookout for an attack of any side.
“You can always use your advantage if anything happens” said Elyan. Rose smiled and nodded at that.
“Yeah, anyone coming up behind me are in for a surprise attack” said Rose.
“The word being surprised” said Elyan. She laughed along with him and they continued riding forward until they got to an abandoned camp.

There were dead people scattered around and the place was completely trashed, the dead seemed to be mainly women and children. Rose got off her horse.
“Check for survivors, Elyan get Arthur” said Rose. She started to check for survivors with the other knights. She looked up when she saw Arthur and the rest of them join them.
“Emerys” said a voice in her head it was calling. She looked across to Merlin who had heard it too. The voice called a few more times before Merlin went into a cave. Rose decided to leave him to it and checked on a few more people. After a while they all congregated together and there was still no sign of Merlin.
“There are no survivors, every single one off them in is dead” said Rose. Arthur nodded and looked around. He then looked at Rose and frowned.
“Anyone seen Merlin” asked Arthur in a concerned voice.
“He went into the caves” said Rose. Arthur sighed in relief and went into the cave after him quickly. A few minutes later they came out of the cave. Merlin looked really upset and distressed; he came over to her and slipped his hand in hers. They gave the dead a proper burial before moving on.

The sun was starting to set, and Rose was starting to get the usual aches and pains she usually got when she on patrol. They stopped for the night and soon everyone was settled down for night. Merlin waited for everyone to fall asleep before getting up. Rose wasn’t asleep yet but was awoken by her brother walking past her. She let him walk ahead before getting up and putting on her cloak following him.
“O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd' hup' anankes!” said Merlin to the air. So, he was calling Kilghara. Why was he calling him? What had happened in the cave? He met Kilghara at the bottom of the hill. Rose watched from a far as Merlin met the dragon.

She smiled when she saw him land. This had to be serious to cause Merlin to risk a lot to call him.
“Young warlock what is bothering you” asked Kilghara.
“I need to have some knowledge about a Druid symbol, a black spiral, within it a thin, yellow coil” said Merlin.
“It is the mark of a Vates. A Druid seer. Where did you encounter him?” asked Kilghara with interest. Rose also looked from her hiding spot with interest.
“On my journey here. He warned me of Arthur's bane” said Merlin. No, not Arthur’s bane, can’t they just have a simple mission without some kind of threat.
“His bane?” asked Kilghara.
“And then he showed me a battle. A terrible battle. Arthur was fighting for his life. I saw him wounded. I saw him fall” said Merlin sadly.
“The Vates' power of prophecy is unrivalled, even by a high priestess, yes young one including you” said Kilghara.

Rose smiled and came out from her hiding place and came to stand next to Merlin. She took his hand and held it in hers.
“So, this battle will come to pass?” asked Rose nervously.
“I do not know, but one thing is certain... this was no chance meeting” said Kilghara. Rose and Merlin looked at each other nervously.
“You think I should heed his warning?” asked Merlin.
“There was a time when the words of a Vates were considered a gift” said Kilghara he was being vague again which Rose always found really annoying about him. It was like have this information but work it out yourselves.
“Then why do they feel like a burden?” said Merlin.
“A wise man is not cowed by knowledge, Merlin. Instead, he uses it to guide him” said Kilghara.
“How?” asked Rose and Merlin together.
“That is something only you can decide. But remember, the Vates singled you out for a reason. Now, more than ever, it is you and you alone that can keep Arthur safe” said Merlin.
“Your wrong, he is not alone and he’ll never alone because he has got me” said Rose. Kilghara nodded and smiled before flying away. Rose and Merlin stared after him before turning around and heading back to camp.

The next morning, they packed up camp and travelled more through Annis’s lands until eventually in the evening they arrived at Annis’s castle and entered the throne room to see Queen Annis sat on her throne. She got up and smiled at them.
“Queen Annis” said Arthur.
“Arthur Pendragon” said Annis.
“I am most grateful that you have allowed us safe passage through your kingdom” said Arthur they all bowed, and Rose curtsied for her.
“We are allies Arthur and these are troubled times” said Annis. She linked Arthur arm and they walked through to a banquette hall. A servant came along and attempted to take Rose’s bag.
“Can I take your bag to your room my lady” asked the servant.
“No thank you, I would prefer to keep my bag on me” said Rose.
“You’ll have no use for it for dinner” said Annis.
“It’s got potions in that I need” said Rose. Annis looked at her with curiosity before nodding the servant left her alone.

They all sat down at the table. Rose sitting between Leon and Elyan. Everyone started to talk, eat and drink. Rose sipped on some wine while talking to Elyan about a knight’s fight manoeuvre.

Annis and Arthur were talking about Morgana. Everyone on the top table stopped talking to listen to what the queen had to say about it.
“What you saw at Asgorath is no surprise. Some months ago, Saxons began raiding our villages. They're rounding up all the men they can find and taking them to Ismere” said Annis.
“To raise an army” asked Arthur. No that wasn’t right, if Morgana had Saxons, she had no need to be kidnapping men and taking them away.
“There are rumours she is ripping the citadel apart” said Annis.
“Why?” asked Arthur. He looked at Rose with a questioning look, like she had answer over what Morgana was up to.
“I would assume though she is looking for something, however I am unsure what she’s up to” said Rose.
“Then my men may still be alive?” asked Arthur hopefully.
“There is every chance that they are alive” said Annis.

Merlin came forward and poured wine into Arthur’s goblet and then Rose’s goblet. The queen looked at Merlin and smirked. Rose had a rush of protectiveness towards him what was she showing interest in him for. “I think it's time for some entertainment. I would love to see your fool perform. Given all his failings, he must have some skills”.  She relaxed and looked across to Merlin and laughed. Arthur looked across to him to looking highly amused.
“You would think so” said Rose.
“You heard the queen, jump to it” said Arthur. Merlin bent down to Arthur to speak to him, they hissed at each other for a few seconds before Merin straightened up and picked up some eggs.

Merlin went into the middle of the room and started to juggle the eggs, starting with one egg, followed by two eggs and then straight to four eggs. He was using magic and Rose found it hilarious. He then made all the eggs disappear. Arthur looked confused as everyone cheered for him. She took her after meal potion while everyone was distracted with Merlin, she then clapped along with everyone else. After a while the Camelot party were showed to their rooms, Rose ended up sharing a room with Arthur and Merlin. She went looked out the window as Merlin helped Arthur out of his armer. She then went across to her bed before looking around and seeing that there were only two bed. She laid down back against the headboard to look across to Merlin and Arthur. Merlin was looking into the fire nervously and Arthur was taking his boots off.
“Where did you learn to juggle like that, I didn’t even know you could catch” said Arthur.
“Yes, well, I have many talents. You've failed to notice them, that's all” said Merlin. Rose got her sleeping draft and drank it down quickly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Arthur. Rose started to feel sleepy as the sleeping draft took effect.
“I don’t think we should be going to Ismere” said Merlin. Rose fell asleep at that hoping Arthur would talk him around.

The next morning everyone got ready to leave for another day of travelling to Ismere, if Morgana had to be kidnapping people, did she have to do it so far away? Couldn’t she have been searching somewhere warmer as well it was so cold. The knights went ahead as Rose and Arthur walked with Annis.
“Morgana is consumed by hatred, be cautious” said Annis, she put her hand on Arthur’s shoulder.
“I would say fear rather than hatred” said Rose.
“We will” said Arthur.
“Either way fear or hate, good allies are hard to come by” said Annis. She looked across at Rose and smiled “Rose could be our only hope with Morgana”. Rose wasn’t sure what to say so carried on walking but gave her a polite smile and nod. She got on her horse and rode so she was along side Merlin. They all set of into the coldness of the day.
“We are both more powerful than Morgana” said Rose into Merlin’s head.
“I know but after everything why is she back now, and this vision it’s a warning, Mordred will kill Arthur” said Merlin into her head.

Her heart tightened at the thought off Mordred. He was still in the future that meant he was alive. Maybe that was worse, she had been sending him letters to be delivered directly to him and he hadn’t written back. Maybe he didn’t love her anymore. That broke her heart even more.
“Mordred doesn’t want to do it; he knows that’s his destiny and he has been fighting against” said Rose into Merlin’s head. They carried on riding for the rest of the day, only stopping once to water the horse. At night fall they found a secluded spot and set up for the night. This journey was so long but it’ll be worth it in the end. Soon everyone was settled and laughing by the fire. Excepted Merlin who was sat a bit away chucking stones into a pool.
“What’s up with him?” asked Arthur.
“He’s worried about Ismere, I think, go speak to him” said Rose. Arthur looked at her and nodded. He went over to Merlin and sat next to him. She was glad it was him going over to comfort him, he was probably sick of her face. A few minutes later they both returned to the fire and after much eating and sitting by the fire to keep warm everyone settled for the night. Rose laid her bedroll next to Merlin’s and he pulled her to him, so they were sharing body heat and a bed roll and blanket. She took her sleeping draft and fell asleep quickly.

The end

Chapter Text

The next morning everyone was sluggishly packing up, the cold was obviously getting to everyone, a horse whinnied in the distance. Rose ran around the clearing and saw that they were surrounded in the clearing.
“We’re surrounded” said Rose and Merlin together. Rose looked around tracked around and saw the outline of Morgana in the fog, off course it was her. Who else would it be?
“We can’t stay here,” said Leon. Morgana came closer to that everyone could see her causing panic in most of the knights including the king.
“Run!” shouted Arthur. Everyone scattered but they were completely surrounded so a sword fight started. Rose immediately went out of the way of the battle not wanting to be used as bait in case a knight panicked. It had been banned from use since Rose returned from her captivity however, she knew how much the men feared Morgana and she didn’t trust them not to try it again. She watched the battle and made sure she wasn’t needed.

Arthur was hit in the back by a blunt object she couldn’t see what it was, but she ran over to him quickly and arrived to him at the same time as Merlin. They both got an arm and ran along with the spaced-out Arthur. Two of the soldiers followed them. They lowered Arthur against a tree and Merlin used his magic to cause a snake to come and scare their horses. It worked and they were both knocked off their horses. Rose and Merlin then got hold of Arthur and ran with him until they were a safe distance before lowering him down and starting a fire.
“That was close,” said Merlin.
“Yeah, it was, how did they know where we are?” asked Rose.
“Someone must have betrayed us; I don’t know who though,” said Merlin.
“Well, whoever did I am going to have to kill them,” said Rose.

Merlin frowned at her but was distracted when Arthur groaned. They both looked at him as he opened his eyes.
“What happened” asked Arthur.
“You don’t remember,” said Merlin.
“Where are the others, Leon, Elyan,” said Arthur.
“We had to get you to safety,” said Rose. Arthur laughed and looked them both with amusement.
“What actually happened?” asked Arthur.
“The usual, we saved your neck, and I can juggle” said Merlin in a bitter voice.
“Like we say he has many talents,” said Rose. Merlin helped Arthur up and they carried on walking in the direction of Ismere.

They walked and it got colder as they walked, her bag was back at the campsite which was ransacked but she was becoming so numb from cold she probably wouldn’t feel the pain anyway. They walked for a long time quickly.
“Can we have a break a minute” asked Merlin. She turned around to look at him and he looked tired and out of breath.
“Make it quick, we want to get Ismere by nightfall,” said Arthur.
“Ismere, we are heading back to Camelot,” shouted Merlin.
“Navigation is not your strong point is it” said Rose with a grin, of course they were still going to Ismere, Gwaine and Percival were still there even if they were just three of them now.

She assumed Elyan and the others had gone back to Camelot to get reinforcements.
“Camelot is south, and the sun comes up where?” said Arthur.
“East” said Merlin angrily.
“Where have we been heading all day,” said Rose.
“Our deaths, the three of us against Morgana, are you insane,” said Merlin.
“Actually, it’s you two against Morgana, she will probably kill you two and take over Camelot again and make me crowned princess again,” laughed Rose.
“Yeah, Rose is safe from Morgana killing her, anyway we told you, we have got to rescue our men,” said Arthur.
“No” said Merlin catching up to them and stopping Arthur from walking. The sudden to stop of walking annoyed Rose.

They needed to get to Ismere so they could get the knights so they could go home and never go this far north again. It was ridiculously cold, and it was getting on her nerves.
“If your afraid then go home” said Arthur kindly.
“I’m worried about you two,” said Merlin. Rose rolled her eyes and started to walk again in the direction of Ismere. A few minutes later Merlin and Arthur jogged over to catch up with her. They walked for rest of the evening until night fell and they took cover under a ridge which gave them small shelter. Rose laid herself down next to Arthur and fell asleep quickly from all the walking.

The next morning, they awoke to a horse above them on the ridge and footsteps. Rose nudged them both and then moved so she was the pressed against the back of the ridge. Merlin started to sit up and say something when Arthur covered his mouth.
“Don’t just stand there find them, spare the girl” said Morgana, so she was still telling her armies to spare her, even though according to her she was better off without her. She looked across at Merlin and Arthur who were still laying down holding their breath slightly as to not breathe to loud “I don’t care how long it takes” she then heard the usual sound of Morgana sending her horse into movement.

They waited a few minutes until Morgana was out of sight before getting up and carrying on with their journey. They walked for a while; Rose was started to get the pain she usually gets when she doesn’t take her potions but she was ignoring it.
“We could do with a horse,” said Arthur.
“Or a pig,” said Merlin.
“You can’t ride a pig,” said Rose.
“No but you can roast it with carrots and apples,” said Merlin.
“Merlin” warned Rose. She blocked out the conversation the food chat making her feel hungry and sick at the same time. Along the path she saw two rabbits were laying there.
“Rabbits” said Merlin in surprise, he bent down to get them. Rose and Arthur seemed to come to realisation that it was a trap at the same time. They both shouted his name and lunged forward. A net came and encased the three hanging from a tree.
“Thanks for that Merlin!” snapped Rose attempting to move so she could have a bit of space and so she could reach her sword.
“I got them!” said Merlin.
“Last time I checked we can’t eat raw rabbit in a net” growled Rose.

They swung around in the net for a while. Arthur and Rose were planning how to escape, and Merlin was laying there probably working out how to cook the rabbits. The sun started to set, and Rose got annoyed as they were still in the net. They both started to reach for their swords.
“What are you doing?” said Merlin.
“If we can reach our swords, we’ll be able to cut the rope,” said Arthur. They both moved to do it, Arthur knee came very close to Merlin’s crotch, and he didn’t realise it.
“Don’t put your knee there,” said Merlin.
“Where?” asked Arthur.
“There, Ahhh!” shouted Merlin. He moved making Rose and Arthur drop their swords out of the net losing their only chance of escape.
“MERLIN!!” Shouted Rose and Arthur at the same time. They had been so close to getting out of this stupid net.
“That was your fault, that was your fault,” said Merlin.
“You, you, you” said Arthur angrily. Both Rose and Arthur swung around the net to see if they could break it to no luck. They stopped as it was exhausting and laid still.
“Where did the other rabbit go!” asked Merlin. Rose rolled her eyes and turned away from him trying to make herself comfortable. They by some miracle managed to fall asleep.

The net dropped suddenly and all three of them yelped on impact to the ground. They were then surrounded by some slave traders. Rose glared at them as she sat up, she was between Arthur and Merlin. The leader of the slave traders walked forward.
“I’m sorry did we disturb your beauty sleep” asked the leader.
“Yeah, shame you never got any,” said Rose. Arthur swung to grab his sword, but the leader stepped on it before he could.
“Not so fast!” said the leader he picked up and inspected the sword “The king of Camelot, you will fetch a hansom price, alive or dead”. He then squatted down and pointed the sword at Arthur “any last requests”.
“Let my ward and servant go, they don’t deserve to die like this,” said Arthur. 

Merlin and Rose were stood up.
“If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first” said Merlin.
“And me” said Rose.
“Rose, Merlin, step aside,” said Arthur.
“I am a knight Camelot and there is no way I would leave you,” said Rose. The slave leader smiled and walked forward to where Rose was standing.
“Think your special do you, because you are in the lady Morgana’s and the kings back pocket,” said the leader.
“No, not really, think your special kidnapping men and selling them as slaves! Come then kill me if you have the guts to tell Morgana,” said Rose.

The man lifted his sword about to finish her off well maybe it was her time, she wasn’t going to cower at death but stared at it head on.
“STOP!” shouted a voice. A familiar voice that Rose had not heard in three years, she looked up and saw Mordred walk towards them “Morgana said no harm is happen to Rose and with the other two shouldn’t we let the lady Morgana decide their fate”. Rose stared at him and he stared at her. He looked shocked that she even was alive.

Mordred came over to them and helped Arthur to his feet.
“You don’t recognise me do you, you saved my life, many years ago,” said Mordred.
“And also banished him,” said Rose. Arthur frowned even more.
“Mordred” said Merlin.
“Hello Arthur,” said Mordred. Rose stepped forward and threw caution to wind, in that moment she didn’t care about Mordred’s destiny, the situation she was in and the fact everyone in that was clearing was full of hate, mistrust and worry. She went across to Mordred and hugged him. He hugged her back tightly. Before pulling away and giving her a smile. She was dragged away from him by the leader.  They were marched forward and were tied up with their hands to the cart. So, they were walking to the pace of the cart and horses.
“She can’t be with the slaves,” said Mordred.
“She can, she’s nothing special, she’ll be treated like the others,” said the leader.

Rose yawned and shivered as she walked along. Arthur and Merlin were glaring at each other and then at the slave trader leader. The other slaves were keeping their distance from them. They walked for a while and Arthur started to get angry.
“Remind me, Merlin how did we end up like this, oh yes you were thinking about your stomach again, I told you it was trap,” said Arthur.
“And I told you to go back to Camelot,” said Merlin.
“Merlin, shut up,” said Arthur. The leader called for a halt and everything stopped, he came over to them.
“We can’t let them hand us over to Morgana, we need to find a way to escape,” said Merlin.

The leader came along and punched Arthur in the stomach hard. Rose glared at him.
“You can’t just hit him!” said Rose. He then slapped her across the face, she showed no reaction and stared him down.
“Speak when spoken to” snapped the man staring at both of them angrily. Rose rolled her eyes and gave him no reaction to slap, this seemed to anger him “faster”.  He went back to his horse and the cart started back very quickly. They all had to run to avoid being dragged along.
“I think this is the moment to say, I haven’t had my potion today” said Rose as she ran along, she felt pain in her legs and her arms were cold. 
“You’ll be alright” said Merlin quietly. They ran for the rest of the day and when they finally stopped for the night. She had black dots in her vision, she was feeling dizzy and in pain.

They were all untied from the cart, but they still had their hands tied up. Not that anyone was escaping tonight everyone looked done in.  Some of the slaves laid down to sleep others sat up and stayed alert. Eventually the only ones awake was Merlin and Rose. She had her head on his shoulder. The slave traders had a fire, she kept making eye contact with Mordred.
“What are you gawping at,” said the leader. They both looked away from the fire and Mordred. He picked up some bread “do you want it, have it” he threw it was just out of reach.

Mordred looked angry and turned to the leader.
“Maybe we should feed them,” said Mordred.
“What for?” said the leader sadistically.
“They’ll be skin and bone, neither will Morgana like the fact you have captured Rose and starved her,” said Mordred.
“Morgana wants slaves, not hogs for the fire, I do not fear the lady Morgana, what makes that one so special anyway,” said the leader.
“Then slow the pace,” said Mordred. He was getting angrier by the minute she could see it in his posture.
“The sooner we get there, the sooner I’ll have my money,” said the leader.
“You won’t get any money if she sees Rose amongst the slave,” said Mordred.
“She will when they see Arthur,” said the leader. Rose laid down the snowy floor and yawned. She fell asleep shivering.

Rose woke up the next morning to Merlin offering her some bread she ate a few mouthfuls and nodded her thanks. She looked around and saw that Mordred was helping pack the camp away. He must have felt her presence staring at him because he turned to look at her. They smiled at each other briefly before he got back to work. They were all put back on the back of the cart, the pain was gone but was only because she was numb.

She had the side effect though of the pain which was the random dizziness and the fatigue. She was so cold the metal of her chainmail was going through her top making her even colder. They walked along, and Rose lost her balance and fell to the ground, the cart dragged her while she tried to get up and regain her balance. Merlin grabbed her by her arm and pulled her up carefully. She regained her balance and walked with the cart; this was getting ridiculous. She heard Arthur and Merlin talking amongst themselves, but she was busy keeping one foot in front of the other.
“Rose, do you think you would be able to run, if you had to” whispered Arthur. Rose shook her head.
“No, not right now, you guys escape, I am no real danger when it comes to Morgana” whispered Rose.
“No, I think the leader is more in danger for doing this to you” whispered Merlin.
“I will find way back to you, I always do” whispered Rose. They nodded and set up their plan.

Sometime later Arthur fell onto his knees and then onto his front very dramatically. The cart stopped, that’s nice, they didn’t stop when she was being dragged by the cart, but they stop when Arthur has pretended to faint.
“He needs water,” said Rose. The leader came along and glared at them all.
“Get up,” said the leader. He kicked him in the side a few times and then stood him up. He acted looking faint really well. It was funny to watch.
“That’s going to help, a kick to the side,” said Rose.
“Shut up, you are so mouthy for a person in your situation” said the leader he glared at Arthur “not so powerful now are you”.
“We’ll help him” said Rose and Merlin at the same time.

He gave Arthur to them, the cart started again a few moments later. He cut his and Merlin bonds and carried on walking. After some time, they decided to put the second part of the plan into action. They pulled the cargo of the cart and yet again the travelling ground to a halt. The leader came back again and stared angrily at them. He was looking at Rose like she had done it.
“Who did this!” demanded the leader angrily “WHO!”. Arthur subtly nodded his head towards Merlin, Rose stood there shivering hoping that they get away alright.
“We need to rest!” said Merlin.
“Right you can rest, for eternity” said the leader, he then bought his sword out and went to swing it. Arthur punched him before he had chance.

After a blur of noise and chaos Merlin and Arthur ran away. Most of the slave trader went after them while some stayed with slaves. Her legs buckled underneath her, and she landed hard in the snow. The slave trader that was still there approached her and undid her hands. He then picked her up and put her she was sitting a bit more comfortable at the side of the road.
“Sit still, oh no Morgana is going to kill us, Arthur escaped and the one person she told us to leave unharmed in harmed” said the slave trader to the leader.

Rose laid herself down and curled up shivering.
“I am fine, I am just tired,” said Rose. She laid there quietly waiting for the slave traders to return and they did. Mordred came straight over to her squatting in front of her.
“What’s wrong!” asked Mordred. He sat her up and kept a hand on her arm to stop her tipping to the side again.  
“I’ve been running with a cart for a day and a half, I’m just tired,” shivered Rose. Mordred took of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder.
“She is to not be with the slaves anymore, she can ride one of the horses” said the leader anxiously. She got up with Mordred's help and went across to the spare horse. She got on to the horse and nearly lost balance. Mordred steadied her before getting on her horse behind her.

Rose decided now she was on a horse and safe in Mordred’s arms it was time to take a nap for the rest of the journey. She changed her position and put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She fell asleep for a bit and woke up as they were on the outskirts of Ismere castle. She snuggled into him.
“Where have you been?” said Mordred, he looked down at her “I thought you were dead”.
“No, I was locked in a dungeon with Morgana for a year, I was on way to get you to bring you to Camelot, but they got me on the way” said Rose.
“Oh Rose, to start with I thought you had gone off me for some reason, I was over thinking everything I had said and done over the weeks since I saw you, then they came to fetch you and that is when I realised you were in trouble but I couldn’t find you, I am so sorry,” said Mordred.
“I hold nothing against you,” said Rose. They got into the square of Ismere and they both got of the horse, Rose felt better after having a sleep. She smiled as she stood with Mordred, he picked up her hand and held it.

Morgana came out of the castle and came towards them. The leader started to gabble at her and she gave him a look which said shut up. He shut up immediately and she walked past him.
“Mordred, Rose,” said Morgana. She smiled at them and they smiled at her she pulled them both into a hug. She led them to her dining room which had food in it, the food made her stomach growl loudly. She sat down next to Mordred and Morgana sat at the other end of the table.
“I feared you were dead, Mordred,” said Morgana.
“Yeah, unfortunately it’s dangerous for those with magic, so I feared you were dead as well,” said Rose.
“It’s not been easy,” said Mordred.
“For any of us,” said Morgana.
“Sorcery frightens people, even some of those who claim to support it,” said Mordred.

Rose put her hand on his hand and squeezed she was so glad to see those perfectly blue eyes, she had missed him so much.
“You see a lot,” said Morgana.
“I’ve learned to, I’ve had to, to not get burnt at the steak or used as another man’s gain, I have travelled a lot so that I can find Rose, I feared she was dead” said Mordred.
“Nah still alive, have to take potions for pain, sleep and anti-sickness but other than that I am fine, ever noticed if magic is used for good no one is like bring back magic but as soon as magic is used for bad everyone is like ban it” said Rose.

Morgana sent her a sympathetic smile.
“Attitudes will change soon” said Morgana peeling an apple with a knife “the old religion will reign once more, there’ll be nothing to fear once Arthur and his kind are gone from the earth”. Mordred looked sideways at Rose and she looked sideways at him. She nodded.
“We did have Arthur is our grasp, he escaped” said Mordred.
“You let him go” said Morgana, she looked suspiciously at Rose.
“Don’t look at me I was being dragged by a cart at that point,” said Rose.

Morgana got up and stared at them with anger in her eyes.
“KILL HIM! THAT’S ALL THEY HAD TO DO! I’M A HIGH PRIESTESS,” shouted Morgana. Rose got up and went to her side of the table to comfort her.
“Morgana” said Mordred starting to stand up as well looking alarmed.
“WE HAVE THE POWER OF THE IN HEAVEN AND EARTH MY HAND AND YET HE CONTINUES TO DEFY ME,” shouted Morgana.
“Calm yourself” said Mordred calmly. Rose hugged Morgana from behind which seemed to work because she hugged her back.
“I want annihilation, Mordred, I want to put his head on a spike and watch the crow feast on his eyes” said Morgana in a calmer voice. Saying something that, Rose sort of wished she were shouting again. Rose was about to say something when the warning bell sounded loudly. Rose looked across to Mordred who was looking confused “Arthur”.

All three of them left the room and walked down into the caves below Camelot. She smiled when she saw Aithusa on her way through the caves.
“Aithusa” said Rose. The dragon looked at her and put his head against her leg. She stroked the dragon’s head before a noise nearby spooked him and sending him running in the direction of the noise that spooked him. Rose had a small feeling the dragon was chasing after Arthur and Merlin.
“Mordred and I will find Arthur, Rose go check on Aithusa” said Morgana. Rose nodded and went running through the tunnels after her wayward dragon.

She found Aithusa in a corner of a cave. He looked at her and she looked at him, she sat down near the rock. He came over to her and put his head on her leg again.
“It’s okay, I got you, your safe nothing will ever harm you again” said Rose she put her hand on Aithusa back and did a healing spell it fixed the bone which had been damaged in the dungeon. She then did the same to his legs so they were no longer limping.

The dragon was still deformed which Rose couldn’t fix it all and the damage to the poor dragon too much. He licked her hand, and she kissed his head. A magical creature approached them.
“I need your help,” said the creature. Rose nodded and got up.
“Aithusa go” said Rose in the dragon tongue. He flew away slowly. Rose looked at the magical creature as it led her through the caves. The creature led her to a knocked-out Merlin. She sat next to him and looked at his head.
“I did a healing spell; I just think he is exhausted,” said the creature.
“Thank you,” said Rose. She put Merlin’s arm around her shoulder and stood up with him. They walked away through the tunnel. She heard footsteps come towards her and smiled when Mordred rounded the corner and helped her bring him to the other knights.

The journey back to Camelot was a lot better than the journey to Ismere. She would sit and joke around with Mordred. It was so good to have him back in her life. Arthur had been speaking about knighting him and this excited her. On the last night of the journey back to Camelot Rose and Mordred were collecting firewood together.
“I need to ask you something,” said Mordred.
“Ask away,” said Rose.
“I have had this moment planned for a long time, usually it involves candles, food and wine but seeing as we are on our way back to Camelot, I need to ask now,” said Mordred. He took Rose’s hands in his “I have got Arthur’s permission and I have Hunnith’s permission”.
“Is this really happening?” said Rose smiling at him.
“Rose Pendragon” said Mordred.
“Wait I have a last name?” said Rose in surprise.
“Yes, Arthur gave it you can you let me finish,” said Mordred.

Rose nodded and looked into his eyes. 
“Yes, sorry,” said Rose.
“Will you marry me?” asked Mordred.
“Yes, oh yes with all my heart,” said Rose. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed back and then they hugged before going back to the campsite. They sat down by the fire and joined the conversation.
“So are you moving to Camelot” asked Gwaine to Mordred.
“Yes, Mordred and I are getting married when we get back to Camelot” said Rose happily sitting back against a log. Merlin looked across at them looking alarmed, she ignored it because she had all the other knights and Arthur’s approval, even Hunnith had given her permission so it was all good.

They arrived back in Camelot the next day and Rose threw herself into planning a small simple wedding. Mordred was knighted first so that he could wear a knight’s uniform at the wedding which was amazing. The morning of her wedding she woke up early and got up straight away.

Gwen came in with their breakfast. She smiled and rolled her eyes at Gwen. She would sometimes bring her breakfast and they would eat together.
“Gwen, you do remember your queen, right?” asked Rose.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t get you breakfast on your wedding day,” said Gwen. Rose shivered with excitement at that, she couldn’t believe after all this time it was actually happening, she was going to be with Mordred without having to travel to get to him. She wished Kara could be there, but she understood that she was settled in the druid camp and didn’t like Arthur much.

She ate breakfast with Gwen before she got into a white dress, it had been picked out so it covered her whole back and her upper arms. She then sat down at her dresser and watched Gwen do her hair.
“I can’t believe this is it, how was Mordred last night” asked Rose. He had been taken to the tavern the night before to celebrate him becoming a knight and most of them had gone except Rose who wanted to make sure the arrangements for the wedding were okay.
“He had fun from the sounds of it, according to Arthur, Mordred and Elyan carried Gwaine home,” said Gwen. Rose laughed off course he went out to celebrate and ended up helping someone out, it was the kind of man he was.

Gwen did her hair into a plait and then put it over shoulder before putting a white bow at the tip of her plait. She stood up and went across to the long mirror.
“Thank you, how do I look” asked Rose.
“You look very pretty,” said Gwen. She slipped on her shoes and there was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” asked Rose.
“It’s me Arthur, it’s time,” said Arthur. She went across to the door and opened it. He looked at her in awe as she stood in front of him.
“What?” said Rose.
“You look lovely” said Arthur.
“Thank you” said Rose. She linked his arm, and they left the room with Gwen walking behind alongside Arthur. They walked to the throne room and waited outside it for a couple of minutes, Gwen went in. She took a couple of deep calming breaths “you ready?”. 
“I am,” said Rose.

They walked in and people bowed as they walked past and at the end was Mordred standing there looking good in his knight’s uniform, he looked at her in awe. Arthur handed her over to Mordred and then went to stand with Gwen.
“You look beautiful,” said Mordred. They held hands in front of Geoffrey smiling at each other, staring into each other’s eyes.
“We are gathered here today to celebrate, by the ancient right of handfasting, the union of Mordred and Rose Pendragon, is it your wish, Mordred, to become one with this woman,” said Geoffrey.
“It is” said Mordred.

Nothing matters in this moment, destiny, the future, the past, nothing mattered in this moment except love and hearing Mordred say that reminded her no matter what he loved her and wanted to marry her and wasn’t going to leave her.
“Is it your wish, Rose to become one with this man” said Geoffrey.
“Yes, it is” said Rose. Mordred looked at her so happily it was like he was in the moment as well nothing was going to ruin this lovely day.
“Do any say nay” said Geoffrey.

They looked around to see if anyone was going to say no, she looked across at Merlin and he looked happy for her and that made her feel a whole lot better, no one said nay “that’s good to hear”. He picked up a garland and started to tie their hands together “with this garland, I do tie a knot, and by doing so, bind your hands and your hearts for all eternity”.

Rose felt her heart jump at eternity and Mordred squeezed her hands.
“I, Rose take thee Mordred to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish, till death us do part, according to god’s holy ordinance, and thereunto I plight thee my troth” said Rose.
“I, Mordred take thee Rose to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish, till death us do part, according to god’s holy ordinance, and thereunto I plight thee my troth,” said Mordred.

They smiled at each other as they spoke, the room had a lot of people in but in that moment, it was just them it was just Rose and Mordred.
“I now pronounce you to be husband and wife,” said Geoffrey. They unlocked hands as Mordred wrapped his arms around her gently kissing her. She kissed back equally as gentle. The room exploded in applause and they turned to face everyone.

The end.

Chapter Text

Rose and Mordred had been married for a month and it was amazing. Married life was good, it was no different to when they used to be in Ealdor. Well, Hunnith did used to tell them that they acted like an old, married couple.  They slept in the same room and didn’t have to worry about getting bored of seeing each other as they both had different routines. Mordred would train as a novice and Rose was advanced so at times, she would help him with his technique, but he was progressing well. He would also help Gaius with potion making. He seemed to love learning new skills from Gaius and the old physician kept telling him he would be a good physician one day.

Rose sat on the bench reading a book while Mordred and Gaius made potions together. Arthur walked in followed by Merlin.
“How was your hunt?” asked Rose.
“We didn’t catch anything, but we got given this by a lady that we stopped being executed,” said Arthur.  He showed them a horn, Rose took it and stared at in shock she showed it Mordred before handing it to Gaius. 
“The horn of Cathbad,” said Gaius.
“When Uther attacked the isle of the blessed the horn was smuggled to safety,” said Rose. Arthur frowned at her.
“How do you know,” said Arthur.
“I read about it also Morgana told me a lot about it,” said Rose. 

He nodded at her before looking at Gaius.
“The woman said it can open the spirit world,” said Arthur.
“I have seen it with my own eyes, long before the time of the great purge, I took part in such ceremonies,” said Gaius.
“Each year at Beltane, the high priestesses would gather at the great stones of Nemeton and summon the spirits of our ancestors, Morgana wanted to learn how to do this so she could speak to Gorlois,” said Rose. Arthur gave her a pained look and took back the horn.
“It holds powerful magic, you must keep it safe,” said Gaius.
“I am going to get ready for the feast, so excuse us,” said Rose. She took Mordred’s hand, and they left the room.

They walked to their chamber she picked out a dress and started to get changed behind her screen. Mordred got his knights uniform and went across to his screen.
“Is there anything I need to know about the feast?” asked Mordred from his screen that was opposite hers. This was his first feast and he seemed nervous. She got changed into the dress and then went back into the main part of the chambers. She sat down on the cushioned bit in front of her bed.
“Smile, stand up when Arthur and Gwen enter and sit when he sits, don’t speak too much and don’t let Gwaine entice you into a drinking game,” said Rose. He came around from his screen and smiled at her a warm smile that reached his eyes. He came over to her and gave her a kiss. She kissed back before getting up. She fixed his cloak as it was a bit wonky.
“You look lovely tonight,” said Mordred.
“Thank you, you don’t look too bad yourself,” said Rose. They kissed again before leaving the room hand in hand.

They walked to the dining room and entered they went across to the knight’s part of the table and sat down. With Gwen being queen now she didn’t always need to sit next to Arthur all the time. Well, it was for more official feasts like Samhain and Beltane. The anniversary of his Coronation poor Arthur would rather wish he didn’t have to celebrate it, but it was tradition. He entered with Gwen and everyone stood up.  They sat down at the head of the table and everyone sat down with them. The room then was full of laughter and drinking. 

Mordred was looking at Arthur with interest he looked solemn and his eyes were full of pain. Rose shuddered at the memory of feeling Uther die.
“He’s always like this at the anniversary of his Coronation” said Elyan to Mordred.
“I thought it was a celebration” said Mordred.
“It is, but it is also the anniversary of Uther’s death” said Rose. Arthur looked across to her and she looked at him. He whispered something into Gwen ear and got up. He walked down the line and bent to speak to Rose.
“Can you come with me a minute” said Arthur quietly. She nodded and got up, she squeezed Mordred’s shoulder before leaving with Arthur. 

They walked out the room and walked to Uther’s tomb. They stood and looked at it. Arthur looked sadder than he had done before. Rose wasn’t sure how to comfort him in his moment, so she put her hand on his back and kept it there a constant presence in his grief. After a while he pulled her to him and held her tightly too him. They stood like that for a long time until Arthur pulled away and he walked Rose to her chambers.

Outside the chambers he hugged her again.
“Thank you for tonight,” said Arthur.
“You’re welcome, happy to help” said Rose. He kissed her hand and then walked away, she went into her chambers and smiled when she saw that Mordred was already in bed. She quietly went across and slipped into bed next to him. He pulled Rose to him in his sleep she wrapped her arm over his arm and let herself fall asleep, she started to dream.

Rose awoke the next day confused and she had the empty feeling returned, she hadn’t taken her sleeping draft the night before and she had dreamed about the dungeon. It was about a conversation she was having with Morgana. It wasn’t an unpleasant conversation, but it had been the first time she had remembered it. Maybe the sleeping drafts were supressing her memory. She shuddered and looked to Mordred he looked peaceful, but they had a training session that morning. She nudged him and he opened his eyes. They both got up and got into their knights’ uniform.

They spent the morning training on the training ground. After training she went to Gaius’s chambers to talk to him about the dream. She entered his chamber and made some tea before sitting down.
“I need to speak with you,” said Rose.
“What can I help you with” asked Gaius.
“So I forgot to take my sleeping draft last night and I had a dream, it wasn’t anything to horrible it was a conversation I was having with Morgana, do you think my memory might be coming back” asked Rose. She saw a flicker of nerves in his eyes before changed his face to normal.

He was hard to read at times.
“It is a possibility, try not to rush it; I’ll make you a stronger one if you want,” said Gaius.
“No thank you, I’ll stick to this one, is there something I am missing,” said Rose.
“No” said Gaius quickly, she raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when Merlin came into the room with a spoon shaped bruise on his head.
“What happened to you,” said Rose.
“Arthur hit me with a spoon, we are going somewhere tonight, he says if Gwen asks we are going we are hunting,” said Merlin.
“Then where are you going” asked Rose.
“I don’t know,” said Merlin. He picked his bag and left the room again.

Rose finished her tea before leaving the room after him. For the rest of the day she spent time with Gwen in council meeting and other royal duties.  At the end of the day Rose and Gwen were eating dinner together. Mordred had been dragged off somewhere by Gwaine and Elyan.
“Do you know where Arthur and Merlin went” asked Gwen.
“Merlin just said hunting, probably to take his mind of things,” said Rose.
“Yeah this time of year always affects him, its sad really because he has a lot of reasons to be sad on his birthday” said Gwen.
“Yeah” said Rose thoughtfully she finished eating and then got up “I’ll see you in the morning”. She then left the room and went to her chambers.

The next morning the council meeting was called, and Arthur and Merlin were back. The meeting went through the usual updates the patrol reports, the training reports, incidents reports and off course Leon’s favourite boring troop movement. Rose sat next to Mordred attempting to stay awake he would nudge her if she looked to bored and she would nudge him when he looked on the brink off sleep.
“We’ve distributed men from Pawlett down to Meldreth. This consists of thirty troops at Bawtry. Fifteen at Talan. Ten at Chime. Nine at Brune,” said Leon. The door burst open and everyone turn to look at it.

Rose blood ran cold, and she let out a small squeal in horror. Uther stood in the doorway looking angry and disapproving of the room, his skin was blue, and it was unnerving. She looked around at everyone, but they barely seemed to notice. There was a dead man back to life and no one else seemed to care. Then she remembered magic, it had to be. Everyone else turned around to look at Leon again accept Rose she watched the door. Uther lifted his hand and bought down the chandelier to land on the table with a crash. The feeling off him was evil.  Everyone jumped back and stared at the middle of the table. Uther looked at Rose with interest before leaving. The meeting was called off and everyone left the room. The round table was cracked.

She walked to Gaius’s chambers and walked in she went across to the bookcase and picked up the book she knew had high priestess stuff in. She then went up to Merlin’s room and started reading he was at work and Gaius was out doing Gaius things. She read for a long time and soon it became night she was then aware that there was a spooky feel to the castle. The wind blew and it was like Uther’s presence was everywhere. She heard Gaius and Merlin enter the main chamber.

She got up and went across and opened the door. She saw that Percival was bleeding from the shoulder.
“What happened” asked Rose coming forward.
“Where did you come from” asked Merlin.
“Your room, I was reading” said Rose matter of factly.
“An axe fell on me,” said Percival.
“It’s a surprise a falling axe would cause this sort of wound,” said Gaius. Wrapping it up with bandages.
“Not as surprised as I was,” said Percival.
“Absolutely. You were lucky not to have been more seriously injured,” said Gaius.
“It’s strange…,” said Percival.
“What’s strange” asked Rose.
“Just before it happened. I sensed something watching me” said Percival he shuddered and the shook his head in a manly way “I am sure it was my mind playing tricks on me”.
“Apply a second poultice in the morning and no training,” said Gaius.
“Thank you, Gaius,” said Percival.

Merlin helped him with his cloak and he then the left the room. Rose looked at Merlin.
“is there something wrong, you two, because I get the distinct impression there’s something your keeping from me” said Gaius. He looked amused and exasperated at the same time. She looked at Merlin to speak.
“No, why would you say that?” questioned Merlin.
“Because there usually is,” said Gaius.
“We went to the stones of Nemeton,” said Merlin.
“I saw Uther in the doorway just before the chandelier fell” said Rose.

They said it at the same time, and he looked at them both with shock. He rounded on Merlin angrily.
“I warned you off the dangers,” said Gaius.
“I tried to stop him; he was insistent,” said Merlin.
“Here was me, starting to think Morgana had released him from the spirit world, he’s a hypocrite using magic like that, he’s released Uther into this world and believe me he is not happy,” said Rose. Merlin shook his head at her.
“I felt a presence in the corridor, if you had a chance to see a dead loved one, you’d take the chance,” said Merlin.
“Off course I would however I would learn what to do I wouldn’t go into it blindly,” said Rose.
“Yeah, priestesses would train for years before entering the spirit world it is full of danger, there was one thing they were sworn never to do, look back as the veil closed,” said Gaius.
“He’s done that because we now have angry Uther wondering around trying to destroy everything,” said Rose. She started walk towards the door and turned around to face Merlin “you speak with Arthur; I am going to make sure everyone is okay”.

If he was against a peasant knight, how was he going to react to a druid knight married to the kings ward or even worse the servant queen. Rose walked out the room undecided on who to check on first. Decided to use the mind talking with Mordred.
“Mordred, where are you?” asked Rose in her head.
“In the corridor near the kitchen with the queen,” said Mordred. Rose smiled that killed two birds with one stone they were safe for now. She started to walk towards that area, she kept getting intercepted by guards wanting to talk to her.

She brushed them off with one-word answers. She got to that area to see the floor was a mess and a lot of things were littered across the floor.
“Mordred!” called Rose. She didn’t get a reply. She looked to around to see that Merlin was also walking down in this direction. They walked down and there was smoke coming from the door near the kitchen. There was a spear in the door and the door was locked. They ran forward and Merlin removed the spear and opened the door. They both looked in to see Mordred and Gwen were laid in there unconscious.
“Gwen” shouted Merlin.
“Mordred” shouted Rose.

They ran in and Merlin picked up Gwen. Rose went over to Mordred and tapped on his face he didn’t wake up just started to cough loudly. She grabbed him under the arm pits and dragged him from the room and the smoke.
“Guards!” shouted Merlin once they had left the room, two of the guards came running towards them and they took Mordred between them.
“We need to take them to Gaius” instructed Rose. Merlin carried Gwen over his shoulder while the guards carried Mordred between them, they got to the physian’s chamber and Mordred was deposited on patient bed and Gwen taken up to Merlin’s bedroom.

Merlin ran to get Arthur as Gaius and Rose got to work on the patients. Mordred had a head injury and had smoke in his lungs, he was lucky to be alive. She dabbed a poultice on his face as Arthur came in followed by Merlin. They went up to Merlin’s room to check on Gwen they then shut the door. A few minutes later she pinched his nose and he opened his mouth. She poured the draft in, and he swallowed it. Arthur and Merlin came into the main chambers followed by Gaius.
“How is he?” asked Arthur.
“Well he has a bang to the head and he had some smoke in his lungs, at the look of his hands he was attempting to fight who ever was attacking them” said Rose pointing to a nasty bruise on his hand “he should be fine though, I gave him a sleeping draft so he should sleep until morning”.
“You need to send Uther to the spirit world” said Gaius to Arthur and Merlin.

Rose got up and squeezed Mordred’s shoulder before leaving the room. She sensed Uther he was in the castle. She followed her sense to under the castle. Anger coursed through her as she walked through the castle following where she sensed him. He was in the throne room sat there with his arms crossed.
“I can see you,” said Rose.
“I noticed that earlier, you always seem to have a way of seeing things,” said Uther.
“Yeah, you can say that, Uther,” said Rose.

He locked the door behind her, and she looked at it then looked at him.
“You will call me ‘my lord’ not my name, show me some respect,” shouted Uther.
“No sorry that title is for the king and you’re no longer king, you attempted to kill my husband so yeah no respect from me,” said Rose.
“He is a druid knight and not fit for his position in court,” said Uther.
“You don’t know him, and you were never my guardian, so it was never your problem, do you know what it is to love,” said Rose.
“I loved my wife, I loved my children and what did it get me, my kingdom is destroyed, my daughter hates me,” said Uther.
“Leave Morgana out of this!” snapped Rose. Uther lifted a pot with magic and sent it towards her, her eyes glowed gold and the pot smashed in mid-air.

He glared at her and got up, so he was over her she stood her ground and refused to move.
“You have magic!” said Uther.
“I was born with it,” said Rose.
“I let you be Morgana’s ward” said Uther he glared at her and attempted again to throw stuff at her she stopped them coming “you corrupted her, you enchanted her”.
“No, you can’t blame me that, all that was you, she was born with magic, she did not choose it, you had her living in fear so as soon as Morgause came along you might as well as pushed her into the arms of Morgause, in the long run who was she going to pick the man that would have her killed without a moment’s thought or her sister who actually told her she was capable of being loved, you destroyed Morgana, you condemn magic even though you have used it yourself! You caused so much pain in your lifetime” said Rose. She wasn’t paying attention as her anger was coursing through her, he caused a plate to come and hit her in the head. She fell forward and everything went black as she passed out.

Rose woke up sometime later she was laid next Arthur. Uther loomed over them staring at them with his dead eyes.
“Get away from them Uther, you have done enough harm. You don't belong here. You have to go back to the other world” said Merlin. Uther straightened and turned to face Merlin. Rose got up and stood behind him ready to move in case he tried a sneak attack on him.

She hated Uther and she was ready for a fight.
“This is my kingdom; you think you can get rid of me you are nothing but a serving boy!” said Uther. “I am much more than that,” said Merlin. A bench came towards Merlin, but he stopped it with his magic. Rose came forward and went to stand next to him.
“You have magic too” said Uther angrily.
“I was born with it,” said Merlin.
“I made you Arthur’s servant, you’re a sorcerer!” said Uther.
“Even while you were king there was magic at the heart of Camelot” said Merlin. Rose took Merlin’s hand and squeezed it.
“We are the children off a dragon lord, while you were raging your war on magic you had two high priestesses and a warlock in the heart of the kingdom, you have condemned so many people of harbouring magic users and you were harbouring three,” said Rose. 
“I will not allow you and your kind to poison my Kingdom” said Uther angrily marching forward towards them.
“You're wrong, you are wrong, about so many things. Arthur is a better and more worthy king than ever were” said Merlin. Uther screamed and came towards Rose.

Merlin put his hand out “Bael onbryne!”. Uther went flying backwards through the door and away from them. Merlin ran forward and opened the door preparing for an attack that didn’t come. They edged around the corridors hand in hand getting ready for an attack. They heard movement in the armoury and went in. The noise was coming from sword swinging. Merlin stilled it before they were both swiftly pinned to the wall by spears, they both gasped at the shock.

They then heard the booted footsteps of Uther coming towards them. They both attempted to get free. Uther stood in front of them.
“I look forward to killing you,” said Uther. Rose’s anger grew by the second.
“Fine then kill us, it doesn’t change the fact you failed your daughter and are the reason for her becoming so angry and full of hate, despite that she has room for growth and will eventually return to Camelot,” said Rose.

He raised his sword but as if on cue Arthur came running in.
“Father!” shouted Arthur he lifted up the horn, well that got his attention he completely forgot about the two sorcerers he had pinned to the wall.
“What I did I did for Camelot” said Uther.
“You had your turn, now its mine” said Arthur. He blew the horn and Uther started to disappear.
“Rose and Merlin have…” said Uther he disappeared completely mid-sentence. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief tears in everyone’s eyes. Arthur came forward and pulled the spears from the wall releasing them both.

Rose dismissed herself and left the room. She went to her chambers and went across to her desk. She got paper and quill and started writing to Morgana. She filled her in on what had happened with Uther’s ghost. There was a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” asked Rose she slid the letter under a book for safe keeping.
“It’s Arthur” said Arthur.
“Enter” said Rose. He came in and went across to her sitting down opposite her at the desk. He gave a worried look.
“I heard what you said about Morgana, do you really believe she could get better” said Arthur.
“Well I wouldn’t class it as get better, I do believe however with time, patience and you changing your mind on magic it can be possible” said Rose.

She was past being worried about defending magic, it was magic hating mania that had caused so much problems in her life.  
“I have been bought up believing magic to be evil, I lost both my parents to magic,” said Arthur.
“I lost one parent to a sword and one to childbirth. You don’t see me attacking every person with a sword or a baby” said Rose.

Arthur laughed and looked at her with interest she decided to come out and ask ready for the repercussions of her question “you have been king for five years, you were prince regent for a year before that which was you being a king without the title and you haven’t executed any magic users, in any of that time, would you change the magic law officially considering the fact your not following it”.
“I don’t know, it’s a hard one because it might cause some magic users to use it against me” said Arthur.
“No, you’ll get the opposite, magic is still outlawed so some people say that you are the same as your father but you’re not” said Rose.
“I will think about it, I am not saying yes, and I am not saying no, I am saying I’ll think about it” said Arthur.
“That sounds fair” said Rose she gave him a genuine smile.

The end

Chapter Text

Rose was on guard duty at night with Leon and a few other knights. It had been a month since Arthur had told her he was thinking about changing the magic law. He hadn’t mentioned it again since, but she would catch him staring off into the distance like he was thinking and that was good enough for her for now. She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound off horses in the courtyard they ran outside as the owner of the horses were getting off them.
“Declare yourself,” said Leon. The woman looked up to look at them and it was princess Mithian with an elderly woman who looked familiar.
“Princess Mithian!” said Rose in surprise.
“Rose, sir Leon it gladdens my heart to see you” said Mithian. She went to faint, but Leon caught her and scooped her up in his arms.
“My lady,” said the elderly woman. Rose went across to the elderly woman and wrapped her arm around her shoulder and helped her into the castle.

They went into the castle and were met by Gaius and Merlin at the guest chambers. Gaius shouted out orders to Merlin while Leon laid her down on the bed. Rose could not stop herself staring at the elderly woman she had seen her somewhere before.
“I’ll have someone show you to your room” said Merlin to old woman.
“I will not leave my mistress,” said the old woman.
“She is in great hands, I assure you” said Merlin calmly.
“She means everything to me,” said the old woman.
“If it was up to me,” said Merlin.
“Please” said the old woman. The way she said it sounded even more familiar she carried on staring at the old woman.
“She can stay in here or we can move them to my chambers, my anti chamber has a bed” said Rose calmly. They nodded and Merlin picked up Mithian and Rose helped the old woman to her chambers luckily for them Mordred was on a visit to Kara so was out so it was easier to move them to that room with Rose being the only occupant of it, she would stay in a guest chamber near the room. They laid Mithian on the bed and started to wrap her up in blankets.

The elderly woman looked out of breath and in pain.  Rose helped her to sit down before sending Merlin to give Arthur an update on the princess. After a while Gaius left as well.
“Let me introduce myself, I am the lady Rose,” said Rose.
“I am Hilda,” said the old woman.
“Have we met somewhere before,” said Rose.
“No, but I am glad we have met now, can you go please I need some rest,” said Hilda.

Rose smiled at her and nodded she went across to her wardrobe and got some clothes so she wouldn’t be disturbing them much.
“I am a few rooms down if you need anything,” said Rose. Hilda nodded kindly and Rose left the room and went to the guest chambers a few doors down. She put her clothes away before laying down on her. Hilda was very familiar she had seen her somewhere before and it was like there was a connection between them she felt the urge to protect her at all costs. She took her sleeping draft and let her eyes droop and she fell asleep.

She had started to dream a bit more with the sleeping draft but hadn’t told Gaius this as he wanted to make her have a stronger dose of it but thanks to the dreams it was helping her piece her memory back together and she remembered most of it apart from one particular day, the day her dress was changed, the day she started to feel empty. It was a while into their captivity she wondered it was. She had asked Morgana what had happened, but she wouldn’t tell her but whatever it was it had traumatized Morgana. Rose awoke the next morning and got out of bed quickly. She took her potions before getting into one of Morgana’s old tunics and her own leggings.

They still came down to her knees, so it looked good on her still. She left the room and had breakfast with Arthur and Gwen before they went to the council chambers to speak to Mithian and Hilda.
“They came at night without warning” said Mithian sadly she got helped into a seat by Merlin, Hilda sat next to her and had her hand over Mithian’s hand “we were unprepared, we could not hold them off”.
“This was three days ago you say” said Arthur kindly, Mithian nodded sadly and continued her story. Rose frowned at this, there was a lot of questions to ask but she knew it was Arthur’s job to question things.
“His men they showed no mercy, he cut us down like corn” said Mithian.
“Odin has no care for the suffering he causes,” said Arthur.
“And your father” asked Gwen.
“He was badly wounded, but we managed to escape” said Mithian.
“Where is he now?” asked Arthur.
“We made it almost as far as the border, but he could not continue any further, Odin’s men will be searching for us, it’s only a matter of time before they find him” said Mithian.
“I see,” said Arthur. Mithian looked across to Hilda and gave her a scared look.

That’s weird was it the fear of the situation or fear of the old woman.
“My father is an old man, he cannot fend for himself, you Arthur are my only hope” said Mithian. Everyone looked across to Arthur to see what his response would be, he was looking at her with sympathy.
“Mithian I understand how you must be feeling, and I will do everything in my power to help you” said Arthur. Mithian looked relieved at this and Hilda looked happy. Her smile she had seen it before.                                                              “Thank you, my lord” said Mithian.

 Rose got up and escorted Mithian and Hilda out of the room. She walked them back to the chamber and arranged their lunch before leaving to go do some training on the training ground. She trained for the rest of the day before heading to the guest chambers she was using she entered the room to see Mordred sat at the table, he looked up and smiled when he saw her.
“Oh, your back,” said Rose.
“I am,” said Mordred. She went over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and sat down on his lap.  She put her head on his shoulder.  
“How did you find out we’ve moved for the time being” asked Rose.
“Gwaine told me,” said Mordred.
“Fair enough, I didn’t know you’d be back so soon, don’t worry there is a mission to Nemeth tomorrow to go and save Mithian’s father,” said Rose.
“I want you being careful,” said Mordred.
“I will be, wish you could come to, have you met Hilda yet?” asked Rose.
“I saw her in passing, who is she, she smiled at me and knew my name,” said Mordred. She moved back so she was looking at him but still on his lap.

How did the servant from Nemeth know about Mordred? Who was this woman?
“That’s strange, I just want to know who she is, it’s like I have a connection with her,” said Rose. Mordred pulled her back, so she was leant on his chest, she started to kiss his neck.
“When do you leave again” asked Mordred.
“Tomorrow” said Rose.
“And it would be rude not to say goodbye, am I right” said Mordred she carried on kissing his neck and nodded. He stood up taking her with him and walked them over to the bed. Later, after making love Rose was laid next to Mordred. He had his arm around her shoulders her head was on his chest. She fell asleep quickly cuddling into him. She started to dream, and it was a bad one, Morgana had done something wrong in the dungeon and she was punished with watch Rose take a beating. She could see Morgana’s tearful face, but Rose stayed stoic refused to show emotion as she was beaten. She awoke with a gasp, tears going down her face.

Rose untangled herself from Mordred and left the chambers. She needed some fresh air after the dream, she walked through the corridor. She heard voices at the end of the corridor. Mithian was on the ground and Hilda was stood over her. It sounded like Mithian was crying. She came forward at the same time as Gwen at the other end of the corridor.
“Is everything alright” asked Gwen.
“Get up slowly” said Hilda kindly.

They turned to face Gwen.
“Do you need some help” asked Rose coming quicker up the corridor her voice was wavering from the bad dream. Everyone turned to face her, Hilda looked like she was ready to stop everything and hug her. Rose also had the urge to seek comfort from the woman, but she held back.
“The princess was feeling a little faint, we were getting some fresh air” said Hilda.
“Well, I hope you’re feeling better now,” said Gwen.
“Much better thank you” said Mithian.

Rose nodded and gave a sympathetic smile she was going through a lot having to leave her father behind to get help.
“We won’t detain you any further, my ladies,” said Hilda. She turned Mithian around and walked her up the corridor.
“I’ll come with you, help you to your chambers, I have perfect draft for dizziness” said Rose taking Mithian’s other side they walked to her chambers, and they went in to the room and they helped Mithian lay down. She went across to her potion draw and got the dizziness one. She gave it to Mithian. She sighed and sat down on the table. Hilda looked at her in concern that look was also familiar.
“You seem troubled” said Hilda to Rose.
“I’m alright just had a bad dream then woke up in the dark,” said Rose. She dismissed herself before she became a blubbering mess, she went to her own chambers.

The next morning Rose got up and got ready for the mission. Soon she was in the courtyard getting everything ready on the horses. She turned around to see Mithian on her horse and Hilda struggling to get on one she approached at the same time as Leon and they both guided her on to the horse. She was exhausted looking. Rose got on her horse and rode alongside the elderly woman just to make sure she didn’t get hurt, as they rode side by side, she got a sense of magic coming from Hilda and as the morning went on it got stronger and stronger. 

They rode through the morning and stopped to eat and rest the horses at midday, Merlin got of his horse and helped Mithian from the horse. Rose got off her horse and helped Hilda down. There was a nasty burn on Mithian’s wrist it looked new and angry.
“Where did you get that” said Merlin looking shocked. Rose went over and examined the wrist, it looked very painful.
“I was bound by Odin’s men, before I escaped” said Mithian.
“I’m sorry” said Rose and Merlin at the same time, she had told them that they had escaped and hadn’t mentioned anything about being captured.

A look on Hilda’s face made it click for her then and there. She looked into her eyes and could have smacked herself sideways for not seeing it before but in Rose’s defence she hadn’t been in front of her that long to stare at her, what was Merlin excuse he had been around her a lot or Arthur and Gwen, they had known her in childhood. It was Morgana, she was under an aging spell, realisation dawned on her face. She could see Hilda looking at her watching her connect the dots.
“I didn’t realise,” said Merlin.
“It’s a very painful memory I am sure she doesn’t want to dwell on it” said Hilda. Yes, oh my god yes, her voice, she carried on staring at Morgana in an aging spell that she was barely keeping together.

Merlin started to walk away, Hilda looked like she was about to faint or transform young again, so Rose got hold of ‘Hilda’ and they walked away arm in arm.
“What is this,” said Hilda.
“Another word out of you and I’ll reveal you to the whole of the army,” said Rose.
“What I don’t…,” said Hilda.
“Shut up… Morgana” hissed Rose in her ear. They got to a private spot, so it was just the two of them. She went from old to young and started to fall.

Rose slowed down time and caught her before she hit the ground and sat her down gently before sitting down next to her.
“I was expecting you to guess sooner,” said Morgana.
“I guessed quicker than the man you grew up with” said Rose she rubbed her back “breathe deep”. Morgana breathed in and out slowly, then slumped into her, her head landing on her shoulder.
“Are you going to tell on me” asked Morgana.
“No, if they can’t tell the person they lived with for years it’s their own fault, however please be careful, I am slowly getting Arthur to get him to change his mind about magic, don’t give him a reason to go against it,” said Rose. Morgana frowned at her before transforming back into Hilda. “Also, if I was going to just expose you, I’d have just let you transform there and then” They got back to the group and Rose helped Hilda on to her horse before getting on her own.

They rode for the rest of the day before stopping for the night in the ruins of a house. They set a woman section of the house and a men section plus the communal area which had the fire. Rose cooked while Merlin sorted out the horses. After a while everyone was sitting around eating. Arthur and Merlin were chatting about the mission she was distracted though as she watched Morgana walk around the campsite getting weaker. Eventually she walked by and collapsed to the ground.

Merlin and Rose jumped up and went across to her quickly.
“Gaius!” shouted Merlin.
“It’s alright,” said Gaius. They were either side of her helping her stand as she stood gasping for air, Rose stood in front of her keeping herself in eye view to give her some strength “just breathe in”.
“I’m fine,” said Morgana.
“Of course, I just want to be sure all the same,” said Gaius.
“That’s not necessary,” said Morgana.
“Hilda if your unwell you must let Gaius help you,” said Arthur.
“Only if you insist,” said Morgana. Rose took Morgana’s old arm and wrapped it around her shoulders and support her with Merlin’s help to the ladies’ part of the house.

Merlin then left to give Gaius space to work. Rose held Morgana’s hand as Gaius did checks on her. Mithian sat anxiously waiting for news. For someone being forced against their will she was very calm about stuff and seemed to care about Morgana.
“I see no obvious problem; you are in perfect health Hilda” said Gaius he seemed surprised maybe he was starting to cotton on, he had known her since she was a child and didn’t even know who it was this was so weird “in better health than me”.

He then left the ladies part of the house.
“Hilda, you need to rest,” said Rose. She nodded and laid down on the bench falling asleep very quickly. She beckoned Mithian to walk with her. They went down to the stream.
“Carve it here tomorrow and send Merlin to fetch you water” said Rose pointing to the rock.
“Carve what” said Mithian.
“Hmm I don’t know, the real name of your servant,” said Rose.
“Hilda?” questioned Mithian.
“Morgana” said Rose.
“You know” said Mithian.
“I found out today, now do as I say” said Rose.

She then walked away from the princess to go check on Morgana who was still asleep. She went across and sat by the fire staring into the embers as it died and got dark. A blanket was wrapped around her as she sat there, she looked up and saw it was Arthur.
“Couldn’t sleep” asked Arthur. Rose nodded, he came and sat down next to her. Put his arm around her and pulled her to him so her head was on his shoulder. He then started to stroke the back of her hair and fell asleep quick.

The next morning, she awoke in the woman’s part of the house, Arthur must have put her there when she fell asleep. She got up and went to find Arthur he was standing in the woods staring into the trees. She went and stood next to him he looked at her and smiled.
“Sire” said Leon from behind them they turned around to look at him. He looked nervous which usually means he has advice he knows Arthur was not going to like.
“Have the outriders returned” asked Arthur.
“Yes, sire, they report that considerable amount of Odin’s men are scouring the border” said Leon.
“They must be searching for Rodor” aid Rose.
“Sire they out number us, if we are seen there is no escape, might it be wiser to wait here,” said Leon. “Time is not a luxury we have,” said Arthur.
“Unless you want to inform Mithian we let her father die because we were outnumbered,” said Rose. Arthur looked at her and then looked at Leon angrily he then started to walk away to prove a point.
“We make for Nemeth,” said Arthur.

Rose nodded and went in the direction of the stream to see what was happening she arrived to find Merlin get thrown into a tree by Morgana, he had a nasty head wound she ran forward. He turned around to face the old woman was about to speak when Morgana put a spell on him her hand went up and it made a squeeze motion.

Merlin hand went to his throat as his throat was constricted, he gasped and wheezed for air.
“Stop!” said Rose. She got in between them “if he dies this doesn’t look normal”. Morgana stopped and Merlin slumped and suck in a breath of air.
“Merlin” called Arthur from the ruins.
“Here! He’s here” called Morgana.
“Let’s forget to mention he’s slightly unconscious,” said Rose. She got down on her knees and checked him over, pulling him so he was leant against her. Gwaine came along to see what was taking them so long.
“Get me Percival now!” Ordered Rose. He went running up and a few minutes later bought back the knight she asked for.

Percival picked up Merlin and carried him up to the main camp where they were joined at the entrance by Gaius. They got into the main part, and everyone started to gather around them.
“What happened?” asked Arthur. Gwaine put his arms out and Percival lowered Merlin into Gwaine’s ready arms. He then lowered him down to the ground with his head on leaning on his legs.
“Rose and Hilda found him,” said Percival.
“He was down by the river; he must have fallen,” said Morgana. Rose looked at her before looking back to Merlin.
“Gaius” said Arthur.
“He’s taken a heavy blow to the head” said Gaius.
“But he’ll be alright” said Arthur.
“He should be fine but there is no saying when he’ll wake up” said Rose stroking his hair out the way off the wound for Gaius.

Arthur stared worriedly down at Merlin.
“We can’t wait for him, not if want to get Rodor in time” said Arthur he looked across at Gwaine and continued talking “Gwaine stay here with Merlin and Gaius, rest of us make for Nemeth”.  She attempted to look at Gaius alone and threw caution to the wind. She had no idea if this worked with Gaius, she knew he had magic but she wasn’t sure how powerful it was but she concentrated on him.
“It is not just a blow to the head, use magic to heal him” said Rose in her head to Gaius. He looked at her and nodded subtly.

Rose nodded back, she the kissed Merlin the cheek before getting herself ready for Nemeth she couldn’t even look at Morgana, they had set a standard a long time ago that if Merlin was harmed by any of Morgana’s plans, Rose was not going to be happy. They set off for Nemeth and Rose stayed at the front with Arthur.

She hadn’t asked Morgana what was going on, but it didn’t take a genius to know they were being led straight into a trap and for Odin to get revenge on Arthur.
“You can’t avoid me forever” said Morgana’s voice in her head.
“Believe me I can try, there are easier ways to silence people” said Rose into Morgana’s head.
“Name one” said Morgana into Rose’s head.
“Sleeping spell, silencing spell, memory charm, or my personal favourite not leading your last blood relative to his death” said Rose into Morgana’s head.
“He will never accept me!” said Morgana into Rose’s head.
“You haven’t given him a chance and what makes you think you can trust Odin anyway” said Rose into Morgana’s head.

They were spared with an answer with Arthur stopping the group as they reached the border.
“The tomb lies just east of the river” said Mithian.
“We are about to cross into Nemeth this is now Odin’s land stay alert, Rose stay close to me” said Arthur. Rose took a step closer to Arthur and exchanged a look with Elyan.

They walked forward as a group with Rose and Arthur at the front with Mithian walking behind them giving them directions to the tomb, they eventually got there and stood in front of the tomb.
“Is this it” asked Rose.
“Yes, my father is in there” said Mithian. She looked guilty and ready to tell them everything, but she kept matching eyes with old Morgana and staying silent.
“Let’s go” said Arthur. They walked to the mouth of the tomb “Leon, Elyan stand guard with the others, Rose and Percival you’re with me”.

He put his hand on Mithian’s shoulder and got her to lead the way. Arthur followed after Mithian while Rose walked along side Hilda but didn’t look at her. Percival bought up the rear ready for an attack at any moment. The tunnel was gloomy and dark. Mithian turned around suddenly about to confess but Morgana gave her a warning look. Rose rolled her eyes.
“The burial chamber lies just ahead” said Mithian she turned around and carried on walking “the end of the tunnel”.

They carried on walking until they got to the burial chamber, it was empty except for the tall white coffin in the room. Everyone looked around in confusion looking at each other.
“Where is he?” asked Rose
“I don’t understand; where is your father,” said Arthur. They all looked around again in case they had missed him somewhere. Mithian looked scared and hopeless as she stood there staring at them.
“He’s not here” said Mithian.
“I can see that where is he?” said Rose she let the realisation dawn on her face as she stood there “It’s a trap”. They stared at her before footsteps was coming at them from every angle then a lot of came into the room via different doors.

Yep this was definitely a trap for them. Rose, Arthur and Percival got their swords out and started to fight they were out numbers completely, but she wasn’t going to stop fighting. It was a blur of metal on metal and shouts she turned to see Arthur was in trouble, so she rounded the coffin and get on his side of it in the distraction she got grabbed from behind by one of the soldiers. A sword went to her throat if this wasn’t a tense situation, she would have laughed at how cliché it was.
“Surrender, or I slit her throat” said the man.

Both men dropped their swords and surrendered. Rose was forced to her knees and she watched as Percival was bent over table. Arthur had three soldiers pinning him down they forced him next to Rose.
“What wrong have I ever done you” said Arthur angrily to Mithian. Odin walked into the room and a man was released Mithian ran over to him and embraced him that must be her father. Arthur can’t be too mad at her he’d do the same if it was his father.
“Arthur Pendragon at last” said Odin
“Are you Odin by any chance?” asked Rose, he nodded before turning to Arthur again.
“I have waited many years for this moment, you killed my son, you took what was most precious to me and now a forfeit will be paid,” said Odin. He looked at Arthur and then turned to look at Rose he got his sword out and pointed it at her “by killing the closest thing you have to a daughter”.

Every single person in the room’s jaw dropped, no one was expecting that.
“Odin, we had an agreement you would spare the girl” said Morgana in shock. Arthur looked at her in confusion “Yes dear brother looks can be deceiving”.  Arthur’s face dawned with realisation and he looked sad.
“Morgana” said Arthur.
“No agreement was made I said I wouldn’t let my soldiers harm her, but I am not a soldier, I needed your power to take Nemeth, did you really think I would ally myself with you,” said Odin.
“You said you wanted Arthur not Rose, she did not kill your son” said Morgana she became young and stepped forward.
“No, she did not but she is the closest thing Arthur has to a daughter, restrain the witch” said Odin two of his soldiers got either side of Morgana holding her in place. he carried on pointing his sword at Rose. She looked at him blankly not showing fear “now she must pay forfeit”.
“Was taking my father’s life not enough” demanded Arthur struggling against his captures wanting to protect Rose.

She couldn’t believe this; it was a trap for both her and Arthur.
“No” said Odin.
“So be it, understand this Odin, you kill her, and you have the whole of Camelot to deal with” threatened Arthur.
“Camelot will be nothing with a broken king,” said Odin.
“You don’t know me and my knights then,” said Arthur.
“You won’t just have Camelot you will have the old religion after you if you harm her, we would join forces with Camelot and we would hunt you down and kill you, you will not harm her this is madness, you will not kill her” screamed Morgana angrily, she turned to face her to see her blow the men that had hold of her back with magic.

She then came forward and stood in front of Rose defensively. Rose was knelt in awe everyone was shocked by the high priestess’s outburst; Odin lifted his sword and Morgana was grabbed and pulled out of the way by five soldiers. Rose knelt ready staring death in the face.
“Tell Mordred I loved him, tell Merlin I loved him, tell cook she can’t cook and make sure you stick to your promises and avenge my death” said Rose as the sword came swinging in her direction, she wasn’t going to show fear, Arthur gave her a sad look “it’s okay”.

The room began to shake, and the men let go of all the restrained as the room continued to shake, she heard a deep voice and smiled because she knew it was Merlin coming to the rescue. She was knocked over and watched as Arthur and Percival got swords and started to fight with the remaining soldiers. Morgana ran across to Rose and helped her up.
“Quick this way,” said Merlin. Morgana pulled Rose through the tunnel.
“I can walk on my own,” said Rose.

Morgana let go of her arm but took her hand as they carried on running. They ran out of the tombs and into the day light, she thought she was never going to see this again. They ran through the trees.
“Morgana take Rose and protect her with your life” said Arthur back to her. Morgana got hold off her and used the Aswindan spell to make them disappear.

They landed at the campsite they had been staying in, Gaius looked up when he saw them land and jumped. Morgana immediately collapsed and passed out. Rose took of her cloak and laid it over her.
“That is why I should be doing all our spells; you are awful at them” said Rose to the unconscious Morgana.
“What happened?” asked Gaius.
“We walked straight into a trap, but it wasn’t Arthur they were going to kill, it was me because I am the closest thing to a daughter” said Rose she had come so close to dying and she didn’t even care, she looked at Gaius and he was surprised “so Arthur and Morgana decided to team up Camelot and the old religion to avenge my death, can you check her please she won’t hurt you, I’ll make sure of it”. She sat quietly after that thinking about what had happened while watching Gaius examine Morgana.                                                            “She’s exhausted,” said Gaius. She stayed asleep for a long time. Rose sat watching her while Gaius pottered about the campsite putting things away.

Everyone arrived back and that is when Morgana started to wake up. They all surrounded her as she rubbed her eyes and looked up. She looked scared and then she schooled her features to angry.  
“We should kill her” said Rodor.
“No! What will that achieve, we are trying to get peace” said Rose walking over and standing in front of Morgana shielding her from view, she wasn’t going to let anyone harm her. Arthur looked conflicted he looked at Morgana and then looked at Rose.
“You are free to go, you are to not enter Camelot, but you are free with your life,” said Arthur.

Everyone around all looked shocked, Morgana stood up and stepped back away from the group that were all ready to kill her.
“What and wait for her to try again another day” said Gwaine.
“My word is final; Rose is right we are striving for peace not war; Morgana is free to go also in future don’t using an aging charm it doesn’t agree with you” said Arthur kindly.
“Can I say goodbye to Rose” asked Morgana politely. What even was going on right now?

Arthur was not killing Morgana, they had joined forces briefly to avenge her death, Morgana had followed an order from her brother and now she was being polite. Then what came out her mouth was the biggest surprise.
“Yes, you have a minute,” said Arthur. Morgana went over to Rose and hugged her tightly she then pulled away, so she was holding on to her hands and she smiled at her.
“I am sorry about putting you in danger,” said Morgana.
“That wasn’t you that was Odin, saying that leading us to him wasn’t great” said Rose she pulled Morgana back into a hug “I forgive you”. She then stepped back. Morgana walked away, she got the horse she was using and was out soon out of sight.

The way back to Camelot was a good one they got Rodor from enemy clutches, Camelot had a new ally and Morgana was alive and not getting executed and there was progress in building the relationship back up again. They got back to Camelot and Mordred and Gwen came to meet them. Rose jumped of her horse and dragged Mordred away into the castle. They walked through the castle hand in hand. She told him everything that had happened.
“Do you believe she’ll ever be back in Camelot as the lady Morgana again” said Rose.
“It’s a possibility nothing is set in stone, so it is a possibility we’ll see her walking around the castle again” said Mordred. Rose smiled before pulling Mordred in the direction of their chambers.

The end